This year, a three-man National Guard team took the first place position at the annual international sniper competition at Fort Benning, Georgia. The competition is held each year with America's NATO partners to enable the sharing of tactics, techniques, and procedures through some friendly competition.
Sniper teams are tested on a series of mental and physical events including long-range marksmanship, reconnaissance skills, and sniper stalks that emphasize the use of cover and concealment during the week-long competition. In addition to American conventional and special ops units, snipers from Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Estonia, Australia and the United Kingdom also participated.
Sgt. 1st Class Erik Vargas of the New Mexico National Guard and Arkansas National Guard Staff Sgts. Benjamin Cotten and Allen Smith won the competition this year.
"Words cannot express how bad I’ve wanted this and how hard I’ve worked for this accomplishment and now it’s here," Vargas said in an Army press release. "My teammates Ben Cotten and Allen Smith equally put in the effort so that we can share in this victory. It was a hard-fought match against some of the best snipers in the world."
Vargas previously served in 3rd Ranger Battalion and is currently a security executive in Las Vegas while his teammates Cotten and Smith are firefighters in Louisiana.
"Winning was the ultimate validation for not only myself but my team as well. All three of us were equally dedicated to the goal, and I could never have gotten here without them," explained Cotten who had dreamed of attending the competition for years prior to their big win.
Overall, the National Guard teams at the competition had a strong showing for four of their teams present in the top ten positions taking 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 8th places.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
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