Sgt. Saykham Keophalychanh and Sgt. Nicholas Mitchell of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, wait their turn on the “Moving Target” event of Fort Benning’s International Sniper Competition. For the event, each team is given 16 rounds and five minutes to hit four moving targets as well as identify four “High Value Targets” from an unknown distance. The International Sniper Competition takes place from October 17-21, 2016 and consists of 43 national and international teams. (Michigan National Guard photo by Capt. Tyler Piper/Released)

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A team representing the Michigan National Guard was named the winner of the 16th annual International Sniper Competition at a ceremony today.



Michigan National Guard wins Fort Benning’s 2016 International Sniper Competition. After 96 hours of competition that featured 21 day and night events, a three-mile run with weapons and equipment, an eight-mile ruck and very little sleep, Sgt. Saykham Keophalychanh and Sgt. Nicholas Mitchell of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, out competed 42 other teams to take home the International Sniper Team Trophy. The International Sniper Competition takes place from October 17-21, 2016, and consists of 43 national and international teams. (Michigan National Guard photo by Capt. Tyler Piper/Released)

Sgt. Saykham Keophalychanh and Sgt. Nicholas Mitchell topped the field of 42 two-man teams from around the world.

A team from the Special Forces Sniper School placed second.

Rounding out the top three was a team representing the 19th Special Forces Group.



Michigan National Guard wins Fort Benning’s 2016 International Sniper Competition. After 96 hours of competition that featured 21 day and night events, a three-mile run with weapons and equipment, an eight-mile ruck and very little sleep, Sgt. Saykham Keophalychanh, Sgt. Nicholas Mitchell and team coach Nikolas Discher of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, out competed 42 other teams to take home the International Sniper Team Trophy. The International Sniper Competition takes place from October 17-21, 2016, and consists of 43 national and international teams. (Michigan National Guard photo by Capt. Tyler Piper/Released)

Teams from the Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, Department of Homeland Security, and the Covington, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, and Maryland police departments, as well as teams from the Australia. United Kingdom, Denmark. Ireland, Canada and Germany competed in the event.

The competition took place on firing ranges across Fort Benning and tested the competitors’ physical fitness and their mastery of sniper skills to include target detection, stalking, land navigation and marksmanship.

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