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CAMP ROBINSON, Ark. — The sweltering Arkansas sun baked the soaked soil at Camp Robinson, and the moisture rose into a thick, humid haze. Sgt. Trahern Fox, Sgt. Kevin Martin, and Spc. John Adamson stepped onto the range; every stride felt like walking on a soaked sponge, and the oppressive 80 percent humidity enveloped them like a sauna.

The trio of Oregon National Guard scouts remained laser-focused amid the swampy conditions. They were all first-time competitors at the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship - the National Guard's most prestigious and grueling rifle and pistol marksmanship event.

Originally a four-man team from the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment's scout sniper section in Ashland, their fourth shooter had an unfortunate last-minute family emergency that prevented him from attending. It derailed their chances at the coveted team championship, but the three Oregonians were undeterred in their goal of personal growth.

The competition was established in 1971 by the then-Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Winston P. Wilson. The annual championship promotes sustained combat marksmanship mastery with individual weapons. It challenges the nation's top Guard sharpshooters across multi-day, combat-focused courses involving rifle and pistol ranges.

After an overhaul in 2007, which implemented new strenuous, reality-based courses, the Winston P. Wilson event became one of the Army and Air National Guard's most intense tests of individual marksmanship skills. Camp Robinson's National Guard Marksmanship Training Center hosts the annual event, where the nation's elite convene yearly to improve their shooting prowess.

"It's a cool, humbling experience to shoot with some of the best in the country and test your abilities against them," said Martin, a detective with the Medford Police Department balancing his civilian career with National Guard service. "You learn a lot about yourself as a shooter - where you need to improve and where you're succeeding."

For the citizen soldiers juggling jobs, families, and military obligations, the championship presented a rare opportunity for focused immersion in honing critical shooting skills. As part of the infantry battalion's reconnaissance element, their scout sniper section's long-range shooting proficiency is vital for gaining intelligence ahead of combat operations.

The scouts' ability to observe and precisely engage enemy targets from exceptional distances could mean the difference between success or failure for their battalion's missions. This ability allows the infantry to fix and destroy the enemy with surgically applied fire and maneuver based on their reconnaissance.

Fox, a network engineer for a California tech company who grew up in Southern Oregon, relished the freedom to devote himself entirely to hone his shooting skills without distractions.

"There's a lot more coordination and complexity that eventually, when you wrap your head around it, it's actually really good skills refinement," Fox said. "Lots of consistent, deliberate trigger time too - back-to-back days drilling the fundamentals that you just don't get at home station."

Adamson, a 12-year police officer working drug cases in Medford, joined the unit only four years ago. He joined seeking training like this and welcomed the chance to elevate his skills against the nation's most elite shooters.

"These are the best marksmen in the country," said the 34-year-old. "If you think you're a decent rifle or pistol shooter, and you go against these guys, they'll show you there's a lot you can improve on. It's incredibly humbling."

According to Martin, a prior combat-deployed trained sniper, injecting stressors to simulate combat conditions was a core premise. Dynamic drills involving moving targets, obstacle negotiation, and skewed shooting positions and environments, all under grueling time constraints, created intense pressure to replicate scouting a hostile objective. 

"With ranges designed around realistic combat scenarios, they induce that same sense of urgency as when you're experiencing the stressors of a hostile environment," Martin explained. "time restraints and competition are the best ways to induce stress into a shooter. And you have both of those things here."

The Oregonians' fatigues told the story as the orchestra of ringing steel and dust-kicking impacts grew louder with each passing range. Their sweat-soaked uniforms and sunburned skin showed that these warriors were honing their combat effectiveness through a challenging course.

When finalized, their scores would memorialize new shooting milestones with rifles and pistols. But the trio's greatest prize was incalculable - fortified skills to elevate their scout sniper section's operational lethality.

The ability to leverage high-level marksmanship from exceptional distances, gleaned through the National Guard's premier shooting crucible, could prove invaluable in combat. Overmatch against any future foe; their heightened ability to shoot and move will pave the way for improved mission success.

While disappointed to lose their fourth shooter, the Oregonians focused on the invaluable skills they'd absorbed. The Marksmanship Training Center's rifle and pistol experience will burn bright when passed from Camp Robinson's ranges to their scout sniper section's training.

                                                                       -30-

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Sgt. Kevin Martin, a scout sniper with the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, scores a target by placing a feedback disk in a target pit at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., during the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship on May 2, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed Martin and his teammates' rifle and pistol skills through realistic, high-stress courses designed to elevate their lethality on the battlefield. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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Oregon National Guard Sgt. Trahern Fox (right) from the 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment scout sniper section confers with Staff Sgt. Clary, a range support staff member, to discuss the conduct of fire for an upcoming event at the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship in North Little Rock, Ark., on May 1, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center at Camp Robinson pushed Fox and his teammates' rifle and pistol skills through realistic, high-stress courses designed to elevate their battlefield lethality. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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Sgt. Kevin Martin, a scout sniper with the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, fires his M17 pistol steadied on a post during a competition range at the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship in North Little Rock, Ark., on April 30, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship event hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed Martin and his teammates through realistic, high-stress rifle and pistol courses to elevate their battlefield lethality. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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Sgt. Trahern Fox (left), Sgt. Kevin Martin (center), and Spc. John Adamson (right) from the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment scout sniper section before taking the firing line at the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship. The prestigious marksmanship event at Camp Robinson's National Guard Marksmanship Training Center in Arkansas pushed the trio's rifle and pistol skills to the limits through realistic, stressful courses designed to elevate their lethality. Though down one shooter due to a family emergency, the Oregonians focused on individual growth to bring heightened skills back to their unit.

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Spc. John Adamson, a scout with the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, fires his M4 carbine from a seated position during the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., on May 1, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed Adamson and his teammates through realistic, high-stress rifle and pistol courses designed to elevate their battlefield lethality. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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In the foreground, Sgt. Kevin Martin, with Sgt. Trahern Fox behind, both scout snipers from the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, fire their M4 rifles during the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., on May 1, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed the Oregonians through realistic, high-stress rifle courses to elevate their battlefield lethality. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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Spc. John Adamson, a scout sniper with the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, prepares to engage targets with his M4 rifle during the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., on May 2, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed Adamson and his teammates through realistic, high-stress rifle courses designed to elevate their battlefield lethality.

(Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)

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Sgt. Kevin Martin, a scout sniper with the Oregon National Guard's 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, scores a target by placing a feedback disk in a target pit at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark., during the Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship on May 2, 2024. The prestigious marksmanship competition hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center pushed Martin and his teammates' rifle and pistol skills through realistic, high-stress courses designed to elevate their lethality on the battlefield. (Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne Oregon National Guard public affairs office)