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NEWS | March 19, 2020

Local Unit Readiness Creates All Army Success

By Sgt. 1st Class John Buol ARMU

Soldiers from 3-335th TSBn (85th Reserve Support Command) attended the recent 2020 All Army Small Arms Championships held by the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Georgia. Named after their unit logo, "Team Blackhawks" were first place among other Army Reserve teams, losing out to the high overall winning teams from the National Guard. Team Captain Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Rosendorn was the first place Individual Army Reservist and Maj. David Zizkovsky was the second place Individual Army Reservist.
 
This unit-level team found their #RetentionViaReadiness effort improved marksmanship skills, retention, and mission readiness within the Battalion and that their Battalion and Brigade leadership was receptive and enthusiastic in their support. Brig. Gen. Kris Belanger (Commander of the 85th Reserve Support Command) and Command Sgt. Maj. Ted Dewitt (CSM of the 85th RSC) immediately saw the value in supporting their Soldiers in this undertaking.
 
With training sessions only conducted after hours during unit Battle Assembly prior to All Army, Sgt. 1st Class Rosendorn worked to maximize the benefit to the team. Soldiers were exposed to civilian competitive matches, use of simulator training devices, and after-BA trips to the range in order to shoot modified versions of the matches they would see at All Army. This exposure selected the most committed team members, enabling "Team Blackhawks" to succeed in competition against more experienced teams.
“While our participation in the event wouldn’t have been successful without the efforts and skill of each team member, we would have stood no chance of attending without the enthusiastic support of our entire chain of command," said Sgt. 1st Class Rosendorn. "I couldn’t have asked for a better team or more supportive leadership.”
Team member Maj. Jeremy Crochierre found the competition useful for its training benefits. “This competition had us engaging targets at ranges and in situations I had no experience with in my Army marksmanship training.  It really challenged me. It was great to interact with top Army marksmen from across the force, and learn from them.” 1st Sgt. James Salm added, “Learning how to consistently hit targets at 500 yards gave Soldiers confidence in their rifles and sight systems”

 

Formal competition hosted by civilian organizations and all components of the Department of Defense are open to all Army Reserve Soldiers. Every unit in the Army Reserve is eligible to host Postal Matches, which can be conducted during normal unit qualification and as a part of the prescribed Training Tables outlined in the current Army Weapons Training Strategy. 3-335th TSBn "Team Blackhawks" made use of programs that can be used by every Soldier in the Army Reserve. 

 
Team member Maj. David Zizkovsky wrapped up the training experience. “All Army was a blast!  There were so many different types of shooting matches that we took part in.  Long range with iron sights and optics, precision pistol and rapid fire combat pistol, shooting steel and paper targets.  It also gave us all a chance to read and judge wind and its effects on ballistics.”