Champions have the ability to make it to the top and stay there, but they also need something else -- support personnel. Qualifications of a gunsmith
Stock car drivers, for instance, have their pit crew. The drivers win the races and the pit crew, well; do you know the names of every man on Dale Earnhart Jr.’s crew? Most people don’t. The crew usually remains unseen by the public eye.
At Ft. Benning’s U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), where top shooters compete in national and international matches on a regular basis, support is essential.
Expert gunsmiths are needed, because, next to shooting ability, the objective is to have the best possible equipment available to compete with.
"When a shooter wins in national or international competition, the only people interested in who built the gun used are the other competitors. In fact, they may be more interested in who built the gun rather than in who won the match. Even the best shooter in the world can not compete successfully if he or she is competing against people who have better arms and ammunition than he or she does. The standards are so high and the achievement levels among the top ten shooters are so close together, that significantly large variations in equipment offset match results." Quoted Mr. Robert Alyward, USAMU’s Deputy Commander.
For this reason, accuracy in firearms and ammunition has to be close to perfect.
The USAMU has its own "pit crew" to work behind the scene, perfecting the weapons its shooters use in competition. The "shop", as it is called, is made up of several sections including service rifle, custom rifle, pistol, machinist, ammunition hand loading, parts supply, and range and target maintenance, including quality control and testing.
All of this is manned by military and civilian personnel who were chosen to work with the unit. The gunsmiths were selected "because they have the knowledge, and have demonstrated their skills in GUNSMITHING," according to Sergeant First Class John Haidu, NCOIC for the USAMU shop.
Gunsmiths are recruited from the major gunsmithing colleges and have at least an associate’s degree in GUNSMITHING.
The shop could be called the backbone of the Marksmanship Unit. It was one of the first sections formed when the unit began in 1956 because "you can’t consistently stay on top without the most accurate weapons," said Young.
Chief of the Custom Firearms Shop at USAMU, Mr. Young, relates that the Army’s prestige in winning competitive shooting depends upon the accuracy and reliability of its equipment.
Our Mission,
The Custom Firearms Shop’s mission is to raise the standard of marksmanship proficiency and combat readiness throughout the Army , conduct Research and Development and to enhance the Army’s recruiting effort. The team accomplishes the first element of its missions by providing and maintaining accurized M16’s known as Squad Designated Marksman Rifles for the 3rd ID. The Custom firearms Shop also provides Research and Development for firearms and ammunition accuracy , conducts and assists Government agencies in Testing and Evaluating firearms and related technology that can be passed on to the Army Warfighter. The Shop also displays the firearms and promotes the USAMU through various tours and trips to illustrate and share the many achievements of the Unit and to allow the American people to share our pride in the talented and dedicated Soldiers of the USAMU.
