JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- Staff Sgt. Cameron Keating of the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is a rising star on the Air Force International Rifle Team.
In the National Rifle Association Mid-Range Regional Championship hosted by the Santa Margarita Gun Club at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, on May 21-22, Keating bested five Marines on their own turf and in their specialty competition, high-power rifle shooting. He won the high service member award with a score of 1144 out of 1200, with 36 X shots at 600 yards, and won first expert. An X shot, or bullseye, hits the smallest ring on the target. At 600 yards, the X ring is 6 inches, according to the association’s rule book. Overall, Keating was 11th out of 70 competitors.
"I am very proud of Cameron. He’s an amazing shooter,” said Maj. Robert D. Davis, team captain and director of complaints resolution at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. “Cameron doesn’t compete in high power as much as small bore, which we primarily shoot. The Marines are traditionally high-power shooters. His success shows the benefits of how small-bore training can carry over to other calibers and distances.”
Keating said the Santa Margarita regionals was his fourth high-power rifle competition. He credits his small-bore training with giving him an edge.
“Small bore is a more difficult competition. My technical position was so sound, I was able to hit the centers,” he said. But high-power holds plenty of challenges.
“The targets are so far away. On one of my strings, I fired at the wrong target. That’s a zero. But I shot virtually the same score on both days,” he said. If he hadn’t scored that zero, he could have won by as many as 10 more points.
“At 600 yards,” Davis said, “the targets appear close together. There are a lot of variables that can take your score down.”
Keating said he started shooting after getting a marksmanship ribbon when stationed at McConnell AFB, Kansas. He joined a base league, shooting .22-caliber rifles, and started with small bore when he was stationed at Vandenberg.
“It’s a very complex sport,” Davis said. “It’s a lot of fun and very addictive. It gives you instant feedback, and you’re always trying to do better and better. Unlike a team sport like basketball, it’s just you, the rifle and the target.”
Shooting competitions are demanding, physically and mentally.
“It’s a little like taking the SATs in a sauna with a straitjacket on,” Davis explained. “You actually wear a shooting jacket, special pants and boots. You’re trying to calm your body down to be still. You have to be steady to hold your rifle and make your shot.”
Target practice and competitions offer life lessons, Keating said.
“It’s helped me build a lot of focus on the task at hand and helped me build patience as a supervisor. Sometimes, the longer you wait, the better the quality will be. If you rush the shot or give unrealistic deadlines, the end result will be less than desirable,” he said. “It’s the camaraderie of the sport that I like best. Every chance I get, I take people out shooting.”
All members of the Air Force shooting teams train and compete mostly on their own time.
“One of the key features of the team is your primary job comes first,” Davis said. “Everyone is dedicated to the sport.”
Keating has been on the team for four to five years, but he won’t be attending the national championships, which are set for July 9-19 in Bristol, Indiana, as he will be deployed.
In addition to Davis, members of the championship Air Force International Rifle Team are:
Lt. Col. Mark Gould of Los Angeles Air Force Base, California
Tech. Sgt. Rodger Scrivner of Los Angeles Air Force Base
Maj. Dan Pempel of Detachment 9, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Master Sgt. Mathew Griffen, a full-time Reservist with the 934th Air Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul. He also competes in high-power shooting events
Capt. Michael Seery, a cyber-attack officer on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
The other Air Force shooting disciplines are action pistol, American skeet, high-power rifle, national pistol, international pistol, international skeet and international trap.