Story by: Capt. Esperanza Meza, 19th Regt. PAO

Posted: April 1, 2015

BASTROP, Texas – Texas State Guard Soldiers from 19th Regiment’s Pistol Team won top honors in the Texas Military Forces Adjutant General’s Combat Pistol competition, Jan. 23-25, 2015, at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas.

During the annual Adjutant General’s Pistol Competition, a total of 54 competitors from the Army, Air and State Guard competed for one of eight Governor’s Twenty tabs. Guardsmen competed in four individual matches and two team matches with individual scores configured into the team totals.

The 19th Regiment’s team placed first in the team completion. 2nd Lt. Scott Hunt, 2nd Lt. David Park, Sgt. Sean Mounger and Cpl. Jonathan Kelley made up team, with Mounger finishing first and Hunt finishing third overall during the individual competition. 

The Governor’s Twenty recognizes the top twenty marksmen in the TXMF, with eight tabs for pistol, eight for rifle, two for sniper and two for machine gun. 

Individual events included an anti-body armor match, a combat pistol barricade match and overall excellence in competition. The team competition included the “Patton” match, named after General George Patton, and a steel plate challenge utilizing all four team members, two on pistol and two on sub-machine gun. Shooters fired from 15-30 yards in the standing, kneeling, prone and barricade positions using both strong and weak hand.

Tabs from the pistol competition were awarded to Hunt, Mounger and Park.

“Keeping an open mind and your ego in check allows you to learn and improve from your teammates, that and the discipline to put the time in to practice your training,” said Mounger. “To sum it up, using my favorite quote from a past college professor of mine, ‘You cannot learn what you think you already know.’”

“As Sgt. Mounger suggested, it is important to approach training with an open mind and a willingness to receive coaching regardless of skill level,” said Hunt. “I can’t tell you how many times something doesn’t feel right and I ask another team member to watch me and provide feedback on form and technique.”

Hunt is only the 7th TXMF soldier to earn a Governor’s Twenty tab in all four combat disciplines, since the program began in 1980, earning a total of thirteen tabs since he began competing in 2011. Both Hunt and Mounger were on the winning pistol and rifle teams in 2012. Mounger, a founding member of the 19th Regiment, TXSG Marksmanship Team, has earned a total of twelve tabs. Park, who participated in 2011 and 2014, has earned two previous Governor’s Twenty tabs in pistol and one in rifle.

 “I think our success is the result of mutual respect, healthy competitiveness, confidence and trust,” said Hunt. “While winning is nice and clearly the end goal, the camaraderie developed through months of training and competing is arguably the most satisfying aspect of being on the marksmanship team.”

The 19th Regiment team is comprised of volunteers who pay for their own ammunition, weapons and range-time. 

The competition is organized by the State Competitive Marksmanship (SCM) Program in the Texas National Guard.