Wisconsin National Guard Soldier and Arkansas Alpha Team win the 53rd Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Championship

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Swanson of Wisconsin National Guard won the title of 53rd Winston P. Wilson Small Arms Champion at the 2024 Winston P. Wilson Rifle and Pistol Matches at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, North Little Rock, Arkansas, April 27-May 3. Team Arkansas Alpha claimed the title of 53rd Winston P. Wilson Team Champion.

In order to emerge as champions in the nationally recognized week-long live-fire competition, referred to as WPW Small Arms, the Wisconsin National Guard and the Arkansas National Guard soldiers competed side by side with four-man teams from across the country.

This year's event brought in 48 four-man teams, totaling to 192 National Guard and Air National Guard shooters from 45 states and territories.

This is the first time Swanson finished 1st place for the Individual Grand Aggregate, which combines rifle and pistol. He won the overall rifle and overall pistol in separate awards, but not in the combined category.

"My motivation comes first from who I am naturally as a person. Something is either worth doing to the best of my ability, or it's not worth doing at all," said Swanson. "I truly believe that great marksmanship is the most critical skill individual soldiers can possess, and the National Level Competition is THE best testing ground to see where you are really at as far as that skill level goes."

Representing Arkansas Alpha team was Master Sgt. Nathan Watters, Staff Sgt. Dalton Ainsworth, Staff Sgt. Pierce Jolly, and Tech. Sgt. Ryan Weng.

Jolly also finished 1st place Novice Rifle Individual Aggregate, 1st place Novice Individual Grand Aggregate, and earned the prestigious Chief's 50 Marksmanship badge for the first time.

"The opportunity to shoot with the Arkansas Marksmanship Program has been fantastic, and being surrounded with great shooters naturally pushes me to better myself," said Jolly. "This being my very first WPW, I leaned heavily on my team, without their knowledge and invaluable guidance, I wouldn't have reached this point."

The annual WPW/AFSAM Small Arms Championships, the Army's largest weapons competition and training events, is hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center, tested the soldiers' marksmanship skills on both rifle and pistol in different combat marksmanship tasks.

"Competitions like these have given me a massive set of skills to bring back to my unit and train countless others", said Staff Sgt. Swanson. "The return on investment is invaluable and immeasurable, I would not possess such an asset without these competitions."

About Us: Established in 1968, the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center (NGMTC) is the National Guard Home of Marksmanship. NGMTC is the National Guard Bureau's center for managing marksmanship training courses and competitive marksmanship programs with the intent to advance small arms lethality, demonstrate National Guard marksmanship capability, and enhance marksmanship effectiveness in combat. NGMTC serves all 54 states and territories and is located at Robinson Maneuver Training Center in North Little Rock, Arkansas. NGMTC is the headquarters for the "All Guard" competitive shooting teams: service rifle, service pistol, multi-gun, and international combat teams. The NGMTC is also home to the annual Winston P. Wilson National Championships, where guardsmen may earn the NGB Chief's 50 Marksmanship Badge. For more information call 501-212-4565. Find us on www.facebook.com/NGMTC, www.instagram.com/ngmtc, www.flickr.com/ngmtc.

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