Sharpshooter Trains National Guard -- Bloomington HT

[IUGradStudent]

Log in: HeraldTimesOnline.com

I don't have a subscription -- can anyone tell me what this is about? Sounds like it's about "Ed Yeager" -- Is he on INGO? Might I know him already? ? ? ?

 

[Griffeycom]

BLOOMFIELD — The tiny business card Ed Yeager hands out has all the usual accoutrements: name, phone number, Web site. But on the back is a dark square, one inch by one inch.



That’s one of the target goals for riflemen involved in the Revolutionary War Veterans Association’s Appleseed Project, which aims to teach advanced marksmanship skills to anyone who wants to learn. (That minuscule square? You’re supposed to be able to hit it at 25 yards using a GI sling and iron sights from a prone position. Five times.)



Yeager, a 46-year-old Bloomfield resident, has been interested in target shooting nearly all his life.



He shot in high school in Daviess County, and was a member of the Sycamore Valley Gun Club. Back in 2006, he ran across an article about the Appleseed Project and visited a shoot in Evansville. He was quickly hooked by the program, which meshes marksmanship training and a sense of how important sharpshooters were to America’s tumultuous creation.


Yeager became an instructor for the program and, in that capacity, recently traveled to Fort Stewart, Ga., for a week to train South Carolina National Guard troops before those citizen soldiers deployed overseas.



“One of our instructors is active duty military,” he said. “He’d run his unit through one of our courses and their marksmanship improved. Word got around.”



Volunteer instructors like Yeager paid their own way to Georgia, which piqued the interest of the Guardsmen. Then, interest skyrocketed as the citizen soldiers saw their own skills increase during the training, he said.



Yeager said instructors typically set a “baseline” at the beginning of the exercise, and then have participants take aim at those same targets at the end of the program to see how much they’ve improved.


Skills taught include how to properly use a sling — or strap — on a rifle. “It’s an excellent steadying tool,” Yeager said. “And it’s a skill not a lot of people are taught anymore.”



There are also tips on breathing (regulate it so your body’s movements don’t interfere with your shot) and natural point of aim (which sounds complicated, but essentially involves making your body comfortable so you can shoot better).



Those tips may sound simplistic, Yeager said, but “when you’re shooting at something hundreds of yards away, every little bit counts.”



Although most events are conducted at a lesser range, participants are taught fundamental skills that allow them to be accurate to 500 yards, a length traditionally known as the “rifleman’s quarter mile.”



The Appleseed Project said the National Guard unit’s average improvement was nearly 300 percent over what its members had previously experienced.



“For regular citizens, this is kind of a fun skill,” Yeager said of the marksmanship training. “But for those guys, being able to make the shot when they need to, it’s a matter of survival.”
Find out more

Visit the Appleseed Project on the Web at The Appleseed Project

Source: Log in: HeraldTimesOnline.com

 

[Mudcat]

That be our own Hawhavn.

 

[hawkhavn]

OK, I've been outed.
For those that I have talked to since our trip to Ft. Stewart you know how much of an honor it was for all of us to help out one of our units. This was the first full bore Appleseed/military venture, I do not believe it will be the last. This week we named a second team to go to the southwest for another week of training. Some 'men who know what they are about' from Illinois, California, Texas and several other states will have the honor there.

Now closer to home, tomorrow I will be calling the reporter that wrote this story and her editor and thanking them. I would like to ask that you do the same, when the Herald Times and the Indiana firearms community disagree, they hear about it. They also need to hear about it when we agree with them. IMHO, this was a very positive story for the 2AM community and the Appleseed program.

Hawkhavn

Reference original story: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ing_military_fort_stewart_ga_oct_5-9_aar.html

p.s. I'll try to limit dorky handwaiving photos in the future...

 

[techres]

For anyone who has not seen it, this is a video of the Ft. Stewart event:

YouTube - Ft Stewart National Guard RWVA Appleseed

I have posted it elsewhere, but it gives me chills each time I see it!

P.S. And another training event is going to happen soon. This time in the sands of the Southwest..

 

[IUGradStudent]

Awesome! Well done Hawkhavn! I had read the writeup on that on INGO and the Appleseed forums -- based on the byline of the HT article I thought that's what it might be about. Didn't know you lived nearby! I will make sure to send in a letter or call to the HT this week thanking them for the article.

 

[shftn6]

Congrats neighbor!