Syracuse.com - National Guard airman from Fabius competing in South African rifle competition

[HuntingNY-News]

Participants will use the South African R-4 rifle. They will be allowed about a week to practice and get used to the firearm.

Airman 1st Class Matthew Rossen is a member of the squad that left today for South Africa.Submitted photo 

An Air National Guard member from Fabius left for South Africa today as part of a National Guard team competing in an international marksmanship competition.

Airman 1st Class Matthew Rossen is part of a 10-member squad composed of representatives from the New York Army and Air National Guard, said Eric Durr, a National Guard spokesman.

They will spend half of this month in Bloemfontein, South Africa participating in the South African Army Combat Rifle Competition. The event begins Tuesday and runs through March 15.

Teams from other African and North Atlantic Treaty Organization militaries have been invited to compete in the event, along with active duty and rserve component forces of the South African National Defense Force, Durr said.

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The New York National Guard has a training and exchange partnership with the South African National Defense Force through the National Guard's State Partnership Program. The program pairs state National Guard's with militaries in eastern Europe and the developing world. New York and South Africa have been partnered since 2003.

Air National Gyard Senior Master Sgt. Edward Stefik, a New York State Trooper in civilian life and a member of the 107th Security Forces Squadron at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, is the team manager.

Participants in the shooting match will use the South African R-4 rifle. The weapon fires a 5.56 millimeter round similar to that fired by the American M-4. However, the American shooters will need to get used to a different sighting system and different feel of the South African rifle, Stefik said.

The bullet also uses a different grain of powder which will influence the trajectory of the round, added Beach. This means the Americans will have to get used to that as well, he said.

"We are going to have a week of prep time before we compete so we will get a chance to train on that style of weapon," Stefik said.

This is the second time a New York National Guard Team has participated in this competition. An eight-member team finished fourth place during the 2011 competition.

Guard members, along with Rossen, participating in the event are:

• Army National Guard 1st Lt. Thomas Beach, Buffalo;

• Army National Guard 1st Lt. Roberts Wesley, Lockport;

• Army National Guard 1st Lt. Sean Lucas, Buffalo;

• Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Nicholas Hare, Tonawanda;

• Army National Guard Sgt. Ryan Campbell, Cheektowaga;

• Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Edward Stefik, Lewiston;

• Air National Guard Master Sgt. Jose Pena-Rojas, Mount Kisco;

• Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Kevin Weatherby, Cohoes;

• And Air National Guard Staff Sgt, Matthew Zimmer, Westhampton

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog