BAKER — Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies have honed their marksmanship skills through local competitions, and some have won awards.
Several deputies have competed in two gun matches at K&M Range in Baker. The competitions are hosted by Precision Tactical Arms Company in Crestview. The two businesses' partnership has opened doors locally to new training and competition opportunities not previously available, and several deputies have been taking advantage of those opportunities.
The April 25 event allowed attendees to share information and techniques and to learn from each other to improve their skills.
Forty-five competitors showed up for a match that required them to use patrol rifles and handguns to complete challenging courses of fire. Rifle targets were placed between 50 and 350 yards and required competitors to move, climb stairs, negotiate obstacles, accurately estimate the range to the targets, and shoot from various positions such as standing, kneeling and prone. They transitioned to using their pistols, hitting targets from 7 to 15 yards away while standing still and while moving.
Competitors included two nationally ranked participants, U.S. Army Green Berets from 7th Special Forces Group, U.S. Air Force Special Operations units, civilians from the local business community, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies and Crestview Police Department officers. Competitors traveled from as far as Texas to compete.
Sgt. Chad Rewis, Lt. Johnny Eubanks, Lt. Mark Raiche, Deputy Chad Goleta, Deputy Ken Taylor, Deputy Aaron Chapman and Deputy Todd Sears were among local participants. Raiche placed fifth overall in the match and took home the trophy for the Top Law Enforcement Officer title with an overall score of 268 points. Just three points separated him from a tie for third place with an Army Special Forces Green Beret. Deputy Marney Hudson, who did not compete in this match, recently won a Top Law Enforcement Officer award as well.
See video from the marksmanship competition>>
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Shooting competition offers Okaloosa deputies new training opportunities