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Base Marksmanship Team Notes

By Lt. Col. Steven Truax, 167th Airlift Wing / Published September 09, 2008

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September 6, 2008 -- This spring Capt. Rodney Jenkins and Tech. Sgt. Garey Diefenderfer were again invited to train and compete with the All Guard Rifle team. The All Guard Rifle team is a small group of elite marksmen selected from Army and Air Guard units all across the United States. 
Jenkins and Diefenderfer began working with the All Guard Team in April by coaching and working out with the newest team members and then went on to test rifles and ammunition. On July 18 two All Guard teams competed in the 1,000-yard Interservice Rifle Match at Quantico, Va. All Guard Blue Team won this match, and All Guard Gold Team, with Diefenderfer as team captain and Jenkins as a team member, came in second place. The Interservice rifle match is a match in which the top military teams from each branch of the Service compete with service rifles.
In August Jenkins and Diefenderfer competed in the National Rifle Championship matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. Individual matches were held first, beginning with the "President's 100" Rifle Match. The top 100 competitors in this match earn the prestigious "President's 100" tab, and this year 1,600 rifle shooters competed. Diefenderfer not only earned the "President's 100" tab, he placed eighteenth overall, making him one of the top rifle competitors in the country. He also won the General Thomas White Trophy as the top Air Force competitor in the National Trophy Individual Rifle Match. Team matches followed, and the All Guard McCollom Team, shooting bolt action rifles with telescopic sights at targets 1,000 yards away, took first place among the Reserve teams. Jenkins served as captain of this team. The All Guard Blue Team took first place in the "out of competition" category, meaning that the members were shooting for experience and were not part of the competition; Diefenderfer served as captain of this team.
Captain Jenkins and Tech. Sgt. Diefenderfer would like to thank everyone at the 167th for their support with the National Guard service rifle team again this year.