University Students Attend Small Arms Firing School at Butner
For the shooting sports to survive, and thrive, we need to bring new shooters into the game. It’s vital that young people get involved in compeitive shooting at an early age. It’s equally important that novice shooters get instruction and encouragement from skilled mentors.
Thankfully the Civilian Marksmanship Program is providing that kind of knowledgeable skills training through programs conducted throughout the country. Recently, at Camp Butner (North Carolina), the CMP offered a Small Arms Firing School (SAFS) taught by U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) experts. The USAMU trainers had a chance to teach members of the Liberty University Shooting Team. Here is the CMP’s report on the successful SAFS:
Liberty University Rifle Team Attends CMP’s Small Arms Firing School
Story based on report by Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer
On a beautiful, sunny morning in North Carolina, over 40 bright-eyed students of all ages set foot on the grounds of Camp Butner Training Facility to take part in a century-old tradition that has trained thousands of new marksmen around the country — the Small Arms Firing School (SAFS). The class was held during the CMP’s Eastern Travel Games at the end of April.
Attending the SAFS were student-athletes of Liberty University, a private institution in Virginia. This year the school launched a new program with four shooting teams: rifle, pistol, shotgun, and three-gun. Among the Liberty University Flames and Lady Flames rifle team member are some accomplished shooters, but others are relatively inexperienced.
Susie Krupp of the Liberty Lady Flames team was the High Non-Distinguished competitor of the event, earning her introductory EIC points.
The SAFS course is a combination of classroom education and hands-on competition and safety instruction on the firing line. At the conclusion, students fire a true M16 rifle match, with the chance to receive Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) points towards earning a Distinguished Rifleman Badge – a prestigious achievement. All equipment is provided by the CMP — even the rifles.
This year members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) trained students. Here SSG Amanda Elsenboss offers pointers to a Liberty University Service Rifle shooter. The USAMU video below features SSG Elsenboss, who has served in the U.S. Army for 8.5 years.
Executive director and head coach of the Liberty University shooting sports program, Dave Hartman, was impressed by the SAFS event and grateful for the education his team received. The university is already looking forward to next year’s Eastern Games: “What’s beautiful about this event is that our competitors can come to this event without any prior knowledge, they don’t need to have a rifle. They go through the classroom portion, and they learn a vast amount of information. And having the USAMU here was fantastic.”
