After firing more than 500 rounds in 11 matches throughout the week, an Alabama National Guard team and a first sergeant from the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence (AVCOE) claimed the top team and individual champion titles at the 2025 U.S. Army Small Arms Championships at Fort Benning, Georgia March 9-15.

The overall champion team and individual competed side by side with more than 200 other marksmen from across the U.S. Army. All four components were represented, bring together Soldiers from active duty, Reserve and National Guard units to the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCOE), as well as cadets from university Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs.

The week-long, live-fire training event, commonly referred to as All Army, began with competitors receiving a Small Arms Firing School block of instruction from the host unit, the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). Once they hit the range, Soldiers’ marksmanship skills on both rifles and pistols were tested in various challenging courses of fire. This included the popular culminating event, the multi-gun match, where competitors quickly navigated through scenarios with their rifles and pistols.

Scores from the rifle, pistol and multi-gun matches were combined to find the overall champion team and individual.

The Alabama National Guard team, Alabama Alpha, who claimed the All Army Team Champion title, beat 45 other teams with an aggregate score of 4401-60x. Team members were: Sgt. Maj. Stephen Murchison (coach), Master Sgt. Joseph Spradlin, Sgt. Gavin Blackwood and Spc. Cameron Drake.

Alabama National Guard also won the Rifle Team Champion title.

1st Sgt. Andrew McCallister, from AVCOE at Fort Novosel, claimed the All Army Champion title over 224 other competitors with an aggregate score of 2004-42x, and with only four months remaining in the U.S. Army before retiring.

“It was a good way to cap off a career. I had a lot of fun,” said McCallister. “I’ve always wanted to compete in All Army, but last year was my first year to finally make it out.”

In 2024, McCallister’s first All Army experience, he placed second in the Overall Champion Category and won the Multigun Champion Category. This year, besides winning the Overall Champion title, the aviator placed first in the Open Category, second in the Multigun Champion Category, first (as a team member) in the Pistol Team Category, and earned his Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge.

While winning titles, bragging rights and badges are fun and motivational, All Army is open to Soldiers and cadets of all skill levels, making it a great place to learn, said Cadet Hunter Schmick, Auburn University ROTC.

“I would recommend this event 100 percent. I have had no prior experience with this type of stuff. So it’s a very friendly environment. It does say it’s a competition, but I consider it more like a training event though.”

Norwich University ROTC leader, Capt. ReLeana Griffith, agreed that All Army was more than just a place to have her cadets send a lot of rounds down range. The entire experience was about knowledge and camaraderie.

“We have [noncommissioned officers] and officers from all walks of life—active duty, Guard, and Reserve—as future lieutenants in either one of those components, they are now meeting people who they will soon network [with] as the Army is a big, small family.”

Giving our cadets the opportunity to see what right looks like will give them an edge when they commission, explained Griffith.

“In order to be the best, you gotta train and learn from the best. We train as we fight, so we might as well learn from the ones who know what they are doing.”

The goal of gathering knowledge was not just for cadets, but for all Soldiers, said Staff Sgt. Edward Chavez, New Mexico National Guard.

“Combat marksmanship is the foundation for increasing lethality among, not only the National Guard, but the United States Armed Forces in general.”

Experience on the range was just one valuable lesson gained at All Army. Soldiers from all four components had a week of interacting with each other, learning and networking.

“The more I can learn here from interacting with shooters from all across the Army, all components of the United States Army, is something I can spread to my Soldiers and to my home unit, and across my entire state,” said Staff Sgt. Hunter McDowell, Michigan National Guard.

With all the different courses of fire through the week, there was one consistent theme, and that was seeing just how much the fundamentals of marksmanship pay off in every scenario, said 1st Lt. Beau Kewley, 227th Infantry Battalion out of Hawaii.

And for this reason, Kewley said he highly recommends All Army for Soldiers who want to increase their tactical marksmanship knowledge.

“It’s 100 percent worth it, as an Infantry Battalion coming here. A lot of the guys here shooting are on competition teams and whatnot. And even though that is not necessarily what we do, we are still able to translate all the marksmanship into what we do on the line, and being able to bring back the marksmanship fundamentals to make a more lethal Infantry Battalion.”

Other category winners are:

Rifle Team Champions: Alabama National Guard

Pistol Team Champions: Aviation Center of Excellence

Multigun Team Champions: Texas National Guard

High Drill Sergeant: Staff Sgt. Matthew Leib

Novice Champion: Staff Sgt. Adam Brown

First Place Cadet: Cadet Paden Howard

Open Category Winner: 1st Sgt. Andew McCallister

Rifle Champion: Staff Sgt. Kendall Miller-Mather

Pistol Champion: Staff Sgt. Louis Gillaspie

Multigun Champion: CW2 Matt Downing

Col. Ralph Puckett Trophy: Staff Sgt. Adam Brown, Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley Trophy: Cadet William Buettner
Pistol Shot Badges earned by: Capt. Victor Liwanag (now double distinguished), Master Sgt. John Zanoff, 1st Sgt. Andrew McCallister, Master Sgt. Jeremy Jackson, Tech. Sgt Eric Reifsnyder, and Tech. Sgt Michael Strempfer.

Distinguished Rifleman’s Badges earned by: Staff Sgt. Evan Bayer, Capt. Parker Deese, Sgt. 1st Class Seth Demers, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Heier, Staff Sgt. Adam Brown, Master Sgt. Joseph Spradlin, Staff Sgt. Charles Stevener (now double distinguished), and 1st Lt. Nathan Villemain (now double distinguished).

Courtesy of U.S. Army.