July 12th, 2023SFC Brandon Green fires the first shot at Camp Perry matches in 2023The first shot ceremony for the 2023 Camp Perry National Matches was held on July 10, 2023. The star of this show was Sergeant First-Class (SFC), Brandon Green, of the USAMU. He is one of the best marksmen in American History. Brandon Green delivered a speech before launching the competition. He fired the First Shot with a Winchester Model 70, the same gun Gary Anderson used 51 years ago. SFC Green is one of the world’s greatest shooters. His record is impressive. Brandon Green, from Box Springs, Georgia, is the first shooter to accomplish this feat in the history of the National Trophies, spanning more than a century of championship rifle competition. Green, who hails from Box Springs in Georgia, is the only shooter to achieve this feat over the past century of championship rifle competition. Green also won the Interservice Long Range Championships five times, and the Interservice Individual Championships four times.
Green has had a stellar career in marksmanship. Christie Sewell, CMP Programs Director and First Shot Ceremony Emcee, noted that Green’s 2018 shooting season ended with him earning four national records. He also won his first President’s Hundred Match in dramatic fashion. He set a national record, a perfect score 400 with a 20 “X” count. In the same year, he won his third National Trophy Individual Championship and third Mountain Man Trophy. This was a new record. “Green Fires the First Shot with Gary Anderson’s Famed Winchester Model 1970
Green was given the chance to choose his gun for ceremonial first shots. He chose the bolt action Winchester Model 70 used by Gary Anderson, Director Emeritus Civilian Marksmanship in 1972, to set the only 200-yard standing, slow-fire score that was perfect at the National Matches. Green said that shooting the gun was a great honor. “I was shooting history. “The gun’s history begins long before the historic shot. “This gun has a special place in the history of marksmanship,” Anderson said. “It was my father’s rifle, and it was converted into a match rifle. It’s been at the First Shot Ceremony twice. In 2019, I shot the first shot with it. “Brandon Green Takes Part in Rimfire Match Before First Shot Ceremony
Green, a 20 year veteran of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, arrived a few days before the rest of his USAMU team. SFC Green said he wanted to take a few extra days to gather his thoughts and prepare for the First Shot Ceremony speech that he would give to the hundreds of attendees. He got sidetracked. He stopped as he walked through the parking lot of the Petrarca Range to watch the Smallbore Prone Iron Sight Championship, and to speak to Brad Donoho, CMP Smallbore’s Program Manager. Green said, “I told Brad that it looked like fun and I said I’ll need to find a gun.” Brad said he knows a guy with an extra rifle. I borrowed a rifle and ammo, and had a great time. “Members Of Congress and CMP Chairman/CEO Attended First Shot Ceremony
On July 10, hundreds of marksmen and National Matches competitors attended the First Shot Ceremony. Dignitaries from the legislative, military, and marksmanship worlds also attended. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Congressman Bob Latta, Major General John C. Harris Jr. and Gerald O’Keefe were the guests speakers. O’Keefe spoke about the long history of the National Matches and the impact it has had on marksmanship. He said that the CMP is dedicated to continuing this impact into the future.
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