FORT BENNING, Ga. – Four soldiers of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit will represent the USA at the International Practical Shooting Confederation World Shoot XV to be held in Bali, Indonesia, Oct. 19 through Nov. 2, the U.S. Practical Shooting Association has announced. The USPSA is the national governing body for action shooting and runs the IPSC matches in the United States.
The United States will have a four-person team competing in each of three divisions and two categories: Open, Standard, Production, Women’s Open and Junior’s Open.
“The United States teams have never lacked for talent and the official 2008 squad is no exception,” said USPSA President Michael Voigt. “Considering the number of national and world titles held by these shooters, I expect another strong performance.”
Soldiers representing the United States in the Open Division will be Staff Sgt. Maxient “Max” J. Michel Jr. and Spc. Kamille C. “K.C.” Eusebio. Sgt. Travis E. Tomasie will compete on the Standard Division Team and Pfc. Brad A. Balsley is on the Open Junior Team.
The IPSC World Shoot is conducted every three years. In 2005, Guayaquil, Ecuador hosted the match with 888 shooters representing 56 nations. The USA contingent, which totaled 105 shooters, accounted for nearly 12 percent of the total field and captured the Open Team title, Open Junior Team title, Standard Team title as well as a number of individual medals. Michel, Eusebio and Tomasie were also members of the 2005 U.S. World Shoot Team.
The World Shoot consists of 36 stages, which will be shot over six days. There will be International Range Officers Association Seminars Oct. 19 to 21 and match check-in, ammunition collection and equipment pre-check will be Oct. 21 to 25. The pre-match will take place Oct. 22 to 24 at the Serangan Island Shooting Range and the General Assembly Meeting is scheduled for Oct. 25.
The Opening Ceremony is Oct. 26 and the match will be shot Oct.27 to Nov. 1. The Shoot-off is set for Nov. 2, followed by the Awards Dinner that night.
