Army Marksmanship Unit Impacts Training, Recruiting, Arms Development

The Army Marksmanship Unit is a unique Fort Benning, Georgia, battalion that is not widely known, not even by those in the military.

Since 1956, the "Home of Champions" has won hundreds of regional, national and international titles in various shooting disciplines and has earned 27 Olympic medals, with the most recent being a silver medal in women's three-position rifle by Army Staff Sgt. Sagen Maddalena at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

As notable as these accomplishments are, it is only a portion of what the unit contributes to the Department of War. USAMU impacts marksmanship training, small arms development and recruiting.

Since its inception, soldiers in the USAMU have shared the knowledge gained from competition to service members across the force. This is delivered in the form of small mobile training teams who work directly with soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, Coast Guardsmen and Department of War personnel.

Courses are tailored to meet unit needs and range from basic to advanced marksmanship skills. These nonstandard ranges cover small arms weapons and can develop specific skills such as concealed carry maneuvers and engaging targets on the move or in the dark.

Soldiers trained by USAMU have historically increased their average scores by more than 30%, according to unit reports. The effective training is measurable since all the provided courses have quantifiable entry and exit qualifications, which often drive the training plan, explained Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Workman, instructor/action shooting team chief.

"Instructors focus on marksmanship deficiencies illuminated from this qualification in order to increase soldier proficiencies," Workman said.

Years of expertise allow USAMU to provide an impressive return on investment for such a small unit, said Kyle Ward, unit executive officer.

"USAMU conducts more than 80 of these tailorable, mobile training missions annually to deliver first-class, doctrinally aligned instruction to more than 4,000 service members at the average cost of $100-200 per person trained, a feat that cannot be replicated elsewhere within the [DOW] or the private sector," he said.

One of the more notable training events is USAMU's marksmanship training support to the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Summer Training program. This annual training, tasked by the Department of the Army Headquarters, impacts approximately 15,000 emerging Army leaders.

Each year, the Home of Champions host the Army Small Arms Championships and the Interservice Pistol Championships on their ranges at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning. Both weeklong training events build comradery and readiness through a variety of courses.

In addition, USAMU soldiers contribute to major Army exercises with partnering nations. In the last two years, USAMU instructors provided marksmanship lessons during Pacific Pathways and Eagle Partner in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Africa theaters.

Most of this training is provided by the Instructor Training Group that is made up of noncommissioned officers with a wealth of knowledge in both combat and competition. However, soldiers from the five competitive teams (service pistol, service rifle, action shooting, shotgun and international rifle) also assist in training regularly throughout the year.

Off the range and behind the scenes, the Home of Champions is just as active. The unit maintains continuous involvement in doctrinal updates, including rifle, pistol and sniper marksmanship publications.

Currently, the unit is working on incorporating quick response codes into the Army's Integrated Weapons Training Strategy. This would allow soldiers reading the doctrine to scan a code linking them to instructional videos that enhance comprehension, making it the first time this technology has been used in doctrine.

"This aims to standardize doctrine and eliminate ambiguity, while saving time and resources," Ward said.

For decades, USAMU custom firearms shop has provided substantial impact in the realm of small arms innovations. Ballistic specialists and experienced gunsmiths regularly work with a comprehensive list of Department of War, joint and Army research centers, lending expertise to force modernization initiatives.

This accelerated capability of moving from concept to production has enabled Army-lethality projects pertaining to the adoption of the M17 service pistol, M7 service rifle, M250 squad light machine gun, and the light-weight intermediate caliber carbine.

Impacts from the varying projects over the years are something not well known, Ward said.

For example, USAMU is credited with testing and narrowing the selection of reduced range ammunition that allows emerging technologies with increased range to be fired on existing small arms ranges within their prescribed surface danger zones.

"This alone ultimately saved the Army billions of dollars in costly range construction," Ward said.

Enabled by success in competitions, USAMU contributes to Army recruiting efforts, along with Army units like the Golden Knights, the eSports Team and the Outdoor Team. Whether it's through soldiers speaking at high schools, providing information at trade shows or performing a marksmanship demonstration, USAMU assists in raising awareness of Army excellence and opportunities.