SFC Henderson Named Top Military Marksman for 2009

Sgt. 1st Class James Henderson, a service pistol shooter with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), was selected as the Military Marksmanship Association (MMA) Soldier of the Year for 2009. Henderson became the first Soldier in 24 years to win the National Pistol Championship at Camp Perry, Ohio. He won the National Trophy Pistol championship, the President’s Pistol match, and the Interservice Service Pistol championship. He was also a member of the first-place National Trophy Pistol Team and the first-place Interservice Service Pistol team. During the course of 2009, SFC Henderson broke numerous national pistol shooting records and claimed countless other individual and team accolades. He was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section and was promoted to SFC in 2009.

Henderson stated: “This is a great honor. I have to thank the guys in the (custom firearms) shop. They help make this all possible. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my team. They push me every day and if I mess up I know one of them will win the match. Being on this team and in this unit is the best job in the Army.”

Henderson first served with the USAMU from 1991-1994 after tours at Fort Benning, Fort Sill and Korea. After a long stint in the Army Reserves, Henderson resumed active duty service and was assigned to the USAMU. Henderson is the only shooter to ever win the “Triple Crown” (President’s Hundred, National Trophy Individual Pistol Championship, and High Team Shooter) in the same year, and he did it twice (2002 and 2009).