Kentucky Air Guardsmen sweep state marksmanship match

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua Horton
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  Airmen from the 123rd Airlift Wing took home five awards from the Adjutant General’s annual Kentucky National Guard State Combat Training Event this year.

The event, held July 15 and 16 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, tested the marksmanship skills of Air and Army National Guardsmen in a high-stress, combat environment, said Staff Sgt. David Farc, a member of the 123rd Airlift Wing’s Marksmanship Team.

The Airmen won First Place Team Overall, Third Place Team Overall, First Place Team (Pistol), and First Place Team (Rifle). Additionally, Farc received second place in the Individual Pistol category.

“We like to win awards, buy our main objective is to propagate good marksmanship and military skills throughout the units in the Kentucky Air Guard to people who would not have the opportunity to practice those skill sets on a day-to-day basis,” Farc said.

Events like the state match also teach Airmen to utilize the fundamentals of situational awareness.

“There are a lot of skills to learn,” Farc noted. “We obviously can’t have someone shooting back at you in these competitions, but we can complicate the match enough to get close to simulating a high-stress combat environment. There are so many little details that you have to maintain like stance, position, round count, et cetera.

“I lost 10 points in one match just because my foot was on the line instead of behind it,” Farc continued. “So it teaches you to pay attention to the minor details, and that’s an effective lesson not just for these matches, but also if we do go into a combat environment.”

Farc said the base team is “always glad to have new members.”

“If you’re interested in joining, the best route is to find someone in your area that’s already on the marksmanship team and talk to them about it,” Farc said. “If you don’t have anyone in your area, you can come and speak to me. We had three new shooters this year and they did very well. The days are long and hot, but once you get used to it, it’s a great time.”

Nine Airmen from the Kentucky Air Guard were part of the approximately 60 Guardsmen who participated in this year’s contest, comprising two of the 15 teams.