Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Adam Crist, a Buffalo Resident, to Compete at National Competition

Latham, NY (04/12/2024) — New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Adam Crist, a Buffalo resident, is set to compete in the Army National Guard's annual marksmanship competition in Arkansas that runs from April 29 to May 3.

The Winston P. Wilson Marksmanship Competition, known as the WPW for short, and named after the Chief of the National Guard Bureau who established the national shooting event in 1971, takes place at the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

"I've been making sure my equipment is ready to go, practicing with a pistol whenever I can on civilian ranges, and digesting the Official Match Publication so I know the courses of fire in advance," explained Crist.

"The team is meeting next week at Camp Smith to get some additional trigger time and dial in our holds at distance before we head to Arkansas," he added.

Crist is assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, which is headquartered at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.In 2007 the Guard marksmanship center re-evaluated the matches and developed new courses of fire to enhance combat survivability and to evaluate the capability of Soldiers and Airmen to effectively employ their weapons.

The other team members are:

• Sgt. 1st Class Robert Lamorte II, assigned to Joint Force Headquarters operations section.
• Sgt. Craig Rowell, an Alden resident, assigned to the 152nd Engineer Support Company, 204th Engineer Battalion.
• Staff Sgt. Warren Solomon, a Lewiston resident, assigned to the C Troop, 2nd Squadron,101st Cavalry.

Crist's team finished in second place in the eastern states marksmanship competition at Fort Ethan Allen in Jericho, Vermont in August 2023.

Crist took first place in the New York Army National Guard's 2023 Best Warrior competition which involves combat marksmanship.

Just getting the chance to compete in the national competition is a big deal, Crist said.

"Knowing the caliber of competition that the WPW draws. I'm honored to be even competing, as that says something of itself," Crist said.

"But My goal this year is to improve in all aspects from the last time I fired each stage, and if I do that consistently, it will mean that I'm on the right track to eventually consider myself in the running to win in the true sense of the word," explained Crist.

"As a Team, even just placing in the All-States competition would mean that the efforts of many across the state have been worthwhile. It would be huge for the State and even more so for the marksmanship program," he added.

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