Participants Receive Tools for Success at Advanced CMP-Remington Highpower Clinic

August 21, 2014

Civilian Marksmanship Program▸The First Shot▸Participants Receive Tools for Success at Advanced CMP-Remington Highpower Clinic

By Ashley Brugnone, CMP Writer

CAMP PERRY, OH – A place for excelling in competition, the National Matches at Camp Perry have also gained the reputation of being a place to find the tools to reach that excellence. On July 15-17, a group of 52 men and women attended the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) Remington Advanced Highpower Clinic in the hopes of incorporating even more rifling wisdom into their competitive routines.

The clinic offers advanced instruction in service rifle competition techniques from members of the Remington-Bushmaster Team, with support from the CMP. Students within the course receive classroom instruction as well as dry-firing practice and guided discussion. Adults and juniors are both permitted to attend the advanced clinic.

Retired U.S. Marine and former Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of the USMC Shooting Teams, Kenneth Roxburgh, serves as lead instructor for the course. Roxburgh began as leader of the CMP-USMC Junior Highpower Clinic. After joining Remington in 2007, he had the idea within his mind to create a course for marksmen of all ages wanting to further enhance their rifling skills. The idea manifested into the Advanced Remington Highpower Rifle Clinic.

“Our goal at Remington is to provide quality marksmanship training at fundamental and advanced levels of instruction,” said Roxburgh. “We do this with formal classroom instruction using power point and conventional techniques of platform instruction.”

Roxburgh and his team of highly qualified instructors conduct local, state, regional and national clinics, just like the one held at Camp Perry during the National Matches. The team can also be found holding the clinic at some individual clubs, touching on some subjects such as:

• Rifle Safety and Weapons Handling

• Aiming and Trigger Control

• Techniques of Slow and Rapid Firing

• Effects of Weather

• Advanced Wind Reading

• Match Etiquette

• Team Shooting

• Courses of Fire

• Care and Cleaning of Match Rifles and Equipment

“At Remington, we take marksmanship instruction very seriously, and so do all of our students who complete the course. I know that senior CMP leadership does too,” said Roxburgh. “It is a very rewarding interaction for me and my fellow instructors at Remington.”

At the conclusion of the class, students are administered an examination to gauge the quality of instruction and the overall success of the clinic. Some questions are mandatory and must be answered in order to pass. Examinations can also be administered orally to ensure that each student is given the proper opportunity to absorb the material.

“This year, we had three non-English speaking soldiers that attended the clinic and received all periods of instruction in English,” Roxburgh explained. “They used handheld devices to record lectures and demonstrations and to photograph power point material, and they also asked frequent questions to others who could translate.”

Recruiting the help of a Spanish-speaking Marine from the Marine Corps Rifle Team and one of the Remington instructors, the soldiers were given the test orally and ultimately passed to complete the course.

“I was very proud of the can-do, gung-ho attitudes displayed by the students and instructors, and I was proud to be part of the outstanding marksmanship community present at Camp Perry,” said Roxburgh. “It was really something to see them (students and instructors) working together toward the accomplishment of a common goal.”

When exams are completed and all students have passed, each earns a special certificate of recognition. Though meant as a memento, the real keepsake of the clinic is the amount of knowledge that can be carried back home and onto the firing line in the future.

“We are very proud of the course content and feel that any student that attends our clinic will be forever changed with regard to their overall knowledge, confidence and capabilities as a high-power rifle marksman,” said Roxburgh. “It is always a pleasure to work with the highly competent and professional CMP staff at Camp Perry and other ranges throughout the U.S.”