ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Reserve Citizen Airmen defenders from across Air Force Reserve Command fared well at the International Shooting Competition in Halk, Denmark in June.
The six Reservists, Senior Master Sgt. William Johnson, Master Sgt. Eric Ellis, Master Sgt. Adam Tremblay, Tech. Sgt. Caleb Giddings, Tech. Sgt. Nicolas Infante and Tech. Sgt. Wesley Mine, gathered at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, in late May to practice for the competition against 26 military teams and 101 shooters from seven different countries.
After six intensive days of training, the team headed to Denmark for the two-day competition. Upon arrival, Johnson and Mine were teamed with two shooters from Germany who needed two more participants to make a full team. Ellis, Tremblay, Giddings and Infante comprised the primary AFRC team.
On the first day of the competition, participants took part in five separate events that tested their skills with rifles, pistols, axes, knives and bows. The last event of the first day consisted of a scenario-based event utilizing dye marking munitions traveling through a marked course on the back of a M35 2 1/2-ton truck. On day two, participants competed in six events using rifles, pistols and automatic weapons.
Overall, the primary AFRC team and the combined AFRC/German team placed well in the competition with the primary AFRC team placing third and the combined team placing 10th.
Individually, Infante placed second among all competitors while Ellis placed 13th, Giddings placed 32nd, Tremblay placed 53rd, Johnson placed 63rd and Mine placed 82nd.
All members of the Reserve team were able to obtain Danish shooting badges for their accomplishments. Johnson earned the Bronze Pistol Badge, Ellis earned the Silver Pistol Badge and the Bronze Rifle Badge, Tremblay earned Bronze Pistol and Rifle Badges, Infante earned the Silver Pistol Badge and the Bronze Rifle Badge, Giddings earned the Silver Pistol Badge and the Bronze Rifle Badge, and Mine earned the Bronze Pistol Badge.
Johnson, who serves as the Combat Arms Program functional manager at AFRC headquarters, said he was extremely proud of the Reserve defenders who participated in the competition.
“The team members were overwhelmingly the right team to represent AFRC in this international meeting between the seven represented countries and showed outstanding professionalism during the competition, further building international relationships with our allies,” Johnson said. “Each member brought with him a wealth of knowledge and experience which in turn molded a team that was able to represent AFRC and bring home numerous awards for AFRC and individually.”
Infante, who is a traditional Reservist assigned to the 482nd Security Forces Squadron, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, and works as a deputy with the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office as a civilian, said he was honored to be a part of the Reserve team and was proud of the way the team performed.
“It was a tremendous effort from everyone on the team,” he said. “I was a part of the Reserve team last year, and we definitely performed better this year. It’s a great competition to be a part of, and the Danish are great hosts. It’s rewarding to see when all of your hard work pays off with good results in an international competition like this.”