Restricted 18+ in CA in compliance with CA State Assembly Bill 2571 prohibiting the marketing of firearms to minors in the State of CA.

Skip to content

Civilian Marksmanship Program

  • Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Calendar
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • MeWe
  • Auction
  • Competition Tracker
  • E-Store
  • Forum
  • Join Our Email List
  • Live Targets
  • Photos
  • Home
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • NM SUPPORT TEAM – NEW MEMBER FORM
    • RETURNING NM SUPPORT TEAM FORM
    • Privacy Policy
    End of Navigation Section
  • About
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Director Emeritus
    • Director of Civilian Marksmanship
    • Board of Directors
    • Programs Chief
    End of Navigation Section
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Youth
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Air Gun Matches
    • College Resources
    • Aces Postal
    • American Legion Junior 3PAR Tournament
    • JROTC 3PAR Matches
      • National JROTC Air Rifle Championship History
    • Junior Rifle Camps and Clinics
      • Junior Air Rifle Camp Counselors
      • Application to Host a CMP Summer Camp
      • Junior Rifle Camp Counselor Resources
    • Junior Distinguished Badge
    • Postal and Regional 3PAR CMP Matches
      • CMP 3PAR Regional Championships
      • CMP 3PAR State Championships
    • CMP National 3PAR Championship
      • State 3PAR Junior Olympic Championships
      • CMP National 3PAR Championship History
    • National Trophy Junior Team Match
    • 3PAR Shooting information
      • 3PAR FAQs
      • Sanctioning 3PAR Matches
      • National 3PAR Council
      • 3PAR Forms
      • 3PAR National Records
      • National Standard 3PAR Rules
    • CMP Scholarship Program
    • CMP-USMC Highpower Rifle Clinic
    End of Navigation Section
  • Clubs
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Club-Related Forms
    • CMP Affiliate Rifle Purchase Program
    • Club News
    • Become Affiliated with CMP
      • CMP Affiliation Application Form
      • Benefits of Club Affiliation
    • CMP MOU's
    • CMP-Affiliated State Associations
      • M1 Garand Fund Development Program
    • Club-Sanctioned Clinics and Matches
    • Find a CMP-Affiliated Club Near You
    • Form a CMP Marksmanship Club
    End of Navigation Section
  • Compete
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • ACES POSTAL COMPETITION
    • CMP National Records
    • CMP Smallbore Program
      • CMP Smallbore Postal Program
    • CMP Air Rifle and Air Pistol Program
    • CMP League Matches
    • Get Started
    • Matches
      • Air Gun Matches
      • CMP Match Award Donors
      • Talladega Matches
      • Camp Perry Matches
      • Military Matches
      • Rimfire Sporter Rifle Matches
      • All Upcoming Matches
    • Register for a CT Number
    • Distinguished Badge Program
      • Distinguished Marksman Badge
    • Competition Rulebooks
    • Forms
    • CMP Pistol Program
      • CMP Bianchi Cup
    • CMP Live Target Images
    • CMP Travel Games
    • Marksmanship Forums
    • Junior Highpower Support Program
    • CMP Rifle Program
    End of Navigation Section
  • National Matches
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • CMP Industry Day
    • National Smallbore Matches
    • National Air Gun Matches
    • National Matches Junior Camp
    • National Matches Support Team
    • Long Range Matches
    • National Trophy Pistol Matches
    • Awards & Trophies
      • Vintage Sniper Match
      • CMP Game Events Awards
      • Long Range Awards
      • Individual Pistol Awards
      • National Trophies
      • National Trophy Individual and Aggregate Rifle Awards
      • National Trophy Team Rifle Awards
      • National Trophy Infantry Team Rifle Awards
      • Team and Special Aggregate Pistol Awards
    • National Matches First Shot Ceremony speakers
    • National Matches Air Gun Events
    • National Matches Welcome Center Information
    • National Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match
    • National Matches Spectator Events
    • National Matches Camps, Clinics, and Schools
    • National Trophy Rifle Matches
    • Directions to Camp Perry
    • Area Lodging Info
    • CMP National Championship Matches
    • National CMP Games Events
    • National Matches Archive project
    • Commercial Row Information
    End of Navigation Section
  • Education
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Basic Archery Course
    • Advanced Maintenance Class
    • Basic Pistol Course
    • Advanced Highpower Clinic
    • GSMM Master Instructor Training and Certification
      • GSM Master Instructor Resources
    • Armorer's Corner
    • Clinics
    • NM COLLECTOR SOFTWARE - CMP EDITION
    • Other Resources
    • Range Officer Training Course
      • Range Officer Training Course: Level II Rifle
      • Range Officer Training Course: Level II Pistol
    • Shooting Tips from the USAMU Service Rifle Team
      • USAMU FAQs: Equipment and Ammunition
      • USAMU FAQs: Shooting Positions
      • USAMU FAQs: Shooting Techniques and Tactics
    • Information on CMP Target Systems
    • Basic Rifle Class
    • Introduction to Shotgun Class
    • JROTC Marksmanship Instructor Course
      • JMIC- Master Instructor Resources
    • State Directors
      • CMP State Director News Submission Form
      • CMP State Director Application
    • Small Arms Firing Schools at the National Matches
    • Rifle and Pistol Training
    • Coaching Resources
      • Air Rifle Target Stand Plans
    End of Navigation Section
  • News & Media
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • National Matches Results Bulletins
    • CMP Podcasts
    • CMP Media Kit
    • ON THE MARK Newsletter
      • An On the Mark Series by: Gary Anderson
    • Customer Comments/Feedback
    • CMP Publications and Training Materials
    • The First Shot
    • CMP Shooting News Archives
      • Join Our Email List
    End of Navigation Section
  • Safety
  • Sales & Services
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Ordering Information
    • CMP Program & Sales Specials
    • Rifle Sales
    • Creedmoor Rifles & Accessories
    • CMP Gift Certificates
    • 1911 Sales Information
    • Videos - M1 Garand
    • CMP Purchase Eligibility Requirements
    • Club Sales Index
    • Custom Gunsmithing
    • Firearm and Parts Sales Links
    • Guns on Auction
    • How CMP Supports Veteran Organizations
    • Visit CMP Stores
    • CMP Target Sales Program
    End of Navigation Section
  • Ranges
    Skip This Navigation Section
    • Air Gun Competition Centers
      • Anniston, Alabama Lodging
      • CMP Monthly Match Program
      • Open Marksmanship
    • CMP Talladega Marksmanship Park
      • Talladega Matches & Events
      • CMP Talladega Pro Shop
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park Shotgun Events
      • 5K Range Run & 1K Fun Run
      • 3D Archery Range
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park Sponsorships
      • Paver Project
      • Talladega Marksmanship Park area lodging info
    • CMP Targets at Petrarca Range
      • CMP Petrarca Monthly .22 Bench League
    End of Navigation Section

CMP Resumes International Distinguished Badge Presentations

May 7, 2019

Civilian Marksmanship Program▸The First Shot▸CMP Resumes International Distinguished Badge Presentations

By Gary Anderson, DCM Emeritus

The U. S. Distinguished International Shooter Badge was established by the Department of Defense to provide official U. S. Government recognition of athletes who excel in international shooting competitions.

Gold Distinguished Marksman Badges are the highest and most prestigious marksmanship awards authorized by the U.S. Government. The Distinguished International Shooters Badge is arguably the most difficult of the Distinguished Badges to earn because International Distinguished shooters must not only qualify for a U. S. National Team but must then produce medal winning performances in international championships where the best shooters in the world participate. The Civilian Marksmanship Program, which now administers the Distinguished Badge program, recently resumed the presentation of Distinguished International Shooter Badges (USDISB) after a long program break. During this interim, the CMP staff had to recover many years worth of data that was lost when a service provider’s computer crashed. A new database with the records of athletes who earned points that count towards the awarding of this badge has been re-established and International Distinguished Badges are being awarded again.

The U. S. Government’s Distinguished Badge program began as a military awards program, but it ultimately became an esteemed awards program for all U. S. citizens. Distinguished Badges affirm our country’s respect for great marksmanship, recognize shooters who consistently place at the top in the most important competitions and promote marksmanship skill development among U. S. citizens. The first Distinguished “gold badges” were awarded to Army marksmen in 1884. In 1891, the program expanded to offer separate Distinguished Rifleman and Distinguished Pistol Shot Badges. The first U. S. Distinguished International Shooter Badges were awarded in 1963.

The completion of this new database has now enabled the CMP to identify athletes who earned U. S. Distinguished International Shooters Badges between 2010 and 2018 that were not previously awarded. The list published here identifies all athletes who reached the 30-point threshold during this period, including those who have already received their badges. Their names are listed with their shooting disciplines, years when they earned their badges and badge serial numbers.

Nick Mowrer began his shooting career as a service rifle shooter. He earned his Distinguished Rifleman Badge as a junior in 2005 and qualified as a member of the Deneke Trophy National Junior Team in 2007. He took up pistol shooting, became a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center. He had an impressive 558 15th place finish in the 2012 Olympic 50m pistol event. By 2013, he had won his Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in U. S. Service Pistol shooting. He never completely gave up rifle shooting, however, and in 2014 won a bronze World Cup medal in the 50m prone rifle event. In 2018, he teamed with another new International Distinguished shooter, Alexis Lagan, to win the air pistol mixed team event in the Championship of the Americas. That gave him the 30 points needed to become the only International Distinguished shooter to earn EIC points in both pistol and rifle events.

Nick Mowrer’s achievement in earning the International Distinguished Badge is particularly significant because this makes him a rare Triple Distinguished shooter. He earned his Distinguished Rifleman Badge as a junior in 2005 and his Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 2013. Mowrer’s accomplishment is also unique because he is the only known athlete to have earned International Distinguished credit points in more than one shooting discipline. Mowrer earned points in both rifle and pistol. The updated list now also includes a father-daughter combination. The father, William Beard, earned his International Distinguished Badge in 1982. The daughter Army 1LT Sarah Beard went over the 30-point threshold during the 2018 Championship of the Americas to become the second International Distinguished shooter in their family.

Army 1LT Sarah Beard, USAMU, won two gold medals and an Olympic quota place in the 2018 Championship of the Americas. She earned her International Distinguished Badge there to join her father Bill Beard as an International Distinguished Shooter.

The International Distinguished Badge was inaugurated in 1963 at the height of the cold war when shooters from the Soviet Union (USSR) were dominating Olympic and World Championship competitions. The purpose of this badge was to encourage more U. S. citizens to dedicate themselves to doing the intensive high-performance training necessary to win medals in international competitions. An Executive Order signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower had already established the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit in 1956 and had given it a mission of winning international competitions.  To further U. S. efforts to excel in Olympic and World Championship competitions, the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP), which operated as a Department of Defense organization, recommended the creation of the International Distinguished Badge. That recommendation was approved in 1962 and in April 1963, President John F. Kennedy presented the first International Distinguished Badge to Gary Anderson, after he won four World Championship gold medals in the 1962 World Championship. Anderson later became the CMP Director of Civilian Marksmanship and is now the CMP’s Director of Civilian Marksmanship Emeritus.

The original criteria for receiving the badge was to win a gold, silver or bronze medal in an Olympic, World Championship or Pan American Games individual or team event. The first 28 badges were awarded in 1963 to athletes who won individual or team medals in the 1962 World Championship. That Championship marked an important milestone in U. S. marksmanship history because NBPRP and U. S. Armed Forces support was instrumental in sending a full, well-prepared USA team to Cairo to challenge the then dominant USSR team. After those initial badges were awarded, badge recognition was made retroactive to USA shooters who won medals in earlier international competitions.  The oldest badges date back to the 1920 Olympic Games. With the advent of the Championship of the Americas in 1973 and ISSF World Cups in 1986, award criteria for the International Distinguished Badge were modified to establish the current 30-point requirement that awards different point values for medals won in championships governed by the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF).

In 2013, the International Distinguished program was expanded to include medal-winning performances in competitions governed by World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS is the world governing body for Paralympic shooting). U. S. athletes who win medals in the Paralympic Games, WSPS World Championships and WSPS World Cups are eligible to win International Distinguished Badges. The first International Distinguished Badge earned by a Paralympian was presented to Roger Withrow, who won a gold medal in the 1984 Paralympic Games. Army Staff Sergeant John Joss III became just the second Paralympian to earn the badge in 2015.

Current badge criteria also award extra credit points for establishing a new World Record (20 points or 10 points for junior records), equaling a World Record (10 points or 5 points for junior records) or for earning an Olympic Games quota place (10 points). A recent change to badge criteria awards credit points to U. S. juniors who win medals in ISSF Junior World Championships or Junior World Cups. The “International Distinguished Badge Credit Points” chart at the end of this article provides details about how credit points may be earned.

Since the first International Distinguished Badges were awarded in 1963, 495 badges have been awarded, including 121 badges awarded to women. This total covers the total scope of U. S. international shooting history from 1920 until today and includes the badges that have been or are now being awarded for athletes who earned their badges in the last decade.

The International Distinguished Badge program is part of the overall Distinguished Badge program that was originally established by the U. S. Government in 1884. The program was administered by the Department of the Army for many decades but when Congress and President Bill Clinton approved legislation to privatize the Civilian Marksmanship Program in 1996, legal authority to administer this program from the Army was transferred to the CMP. The CMP subsequently added two new badges to the program, the Junior Distinguished Badge in 2001 and the 22 Rimfire Pistol Badge in 2015.  In 2019, the CMP is inaugurating a new Distinguished Marksman Badge to be awarded to shooters with disabilities who earn EIC credit points in national competitions. Today six different Distinguished Badges are awarded.  The chart titled “U. S. Distinguished Marksman Badges” identifies the badges now awarded through this program.

Current official regulations for the International Distinguished Badge appear in the CMP Highpower Rifle Competition Rules (https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/HighpowerRifleRules.pdf) or the CMP Pistol Competition Rules (https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/PistolRules.pdf). The chart below, which is published in these regulations, shows how and where USDISB credit points can be earned. A total of 30 points are required to earn the badge.

Any shooters who have earned EIC points in international competitions or in other Distinguished Badge programs can check their personal records on the CMP webpage at http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=reportShootersWithDistinguishedPoints. Anyone with questions regarding their credit point status should contact the CMP Competitions Department, Vera Snyder, [email protected], 419-635-2141, ext. 782.

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share99
99 Shares

8 Replies to “CMP Resumes International Distinguished Badge Presentations”

  1. James (Jim) M. Adell says:
    May 9, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    I suggest that the CMP also recognize the USA International Long Range Rifle Teams (also known as Palma, Fullbore and F-Class) competing the their World Championship Matches.

    Reply
    1. Christine Elder says:
      May 16, 2019 at 8:59 pm

      I’ll forward your suggestion to our Rules Committee. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Mike McDaniel says:
      May 28, 2020 at 7:17 pm

      I’d also like to see the U.S. International Muzzle-Loading Team recognized. They’ve been representing the U.S. at the World Muzzle-Loading Championships since 1976.

      Reply
      1. Christine Elder says:
        May 29, 2020 at 5:07 am

        Mike,
        I’ll pass your suggestion onto our staff that handles the International Dist Badge Program.

        Thanks,
        Christine

        Reply
  2. Dennis Shea says:
    May 9, 2019 at 9:16 am

    Christine what is the difference between distinguish international shooter and international distinguished rifleman,s badge
    On the international distinguish rifleman’s badge Mike Dunia one badge number four and I did not see him on your list

    Please advise thank you
    Dennis Shea

    Reply
    1. Christine Elder says:
      May 16, 2019 at 9:10 pm

      It looks like we have a Michael Dunia listed for Rifle in 1988 and Rifle in 1960. Perhaps the listing for 1960 should be International? I’ll forward to Vera to look into. Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Michael B McShea says:
    May 8, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    I am so grateful to the CMP for creating this Distinguished Marksman Badge. There have been so many
    competitors (military and civilian) whose disabilities prevent them from getting into the prone position “from standing”.

    I am looking forward to seeing these Badges awarded soon.

    Reply
  4. Glenn McDermott says:
    May 8, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    Previously the Wigger family had a father, daughter and son earn the International Distinguished Badge. Father, Lones, in 1963; daughter Deena in 1983; and son Ron in 2002.

    Congratulations to both these Marksman families!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Auction
  • Competition Tracker
  • E-Store
  • Forum
  • Join Our Email List
  • Live Targets
  • Photos

Civilian Marksmanship Program

Mission – Promote marksmanship through firearms training, safety, competitions and youth programs.
Vision – To lead the nation in marksmanship excellence providing safe, high quality and innovative programs with a focus on youth.

If you need assistance accessing any of our content or would like it in an alternative format you can contact us via our contact form, click here.

  • Calendar
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • MeWe
  • Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Sponsorship
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Youth
  • Clubs
  • Compete
  • National Matches
  • Education
  • News & Media
  • Safety
  • Sales & Services
  • Ranges
  • Privacy Policy

©2023 Civilian Marksmanship Program. All rights reserved.
Site by West Edge Collective.