Senior Spotlight: X Marks the Spot – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
Ohio State rifle captain Sam Ohlinger serves country as civilian marksmanship instructor. Senior team captain is the third of this week’s senior spotlight series. The 2008 Ohio State Spring Commencement is at 1 p.m. Sunday in Ohio Stadium.
Steady as it goes. In shooting sports such as rifle, consistency is perhaps the key component to a marksman’s accuracy and eventual success in hitting targets. But the skills of the country’s top shooters can be used to do more than just win matches, as Ohio State rifle’s graduating senior captain Sam Ohlinger found out in 2005.
Dedicated to the sport since attending the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association clinic at age 14, Ohlinger has developed his interest in rifle, becoming not only a student-athlete at Ohio State but also one of only 30 civilians selected to train the U.S. Army as part of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).
Ohlinger, who is majoring in political science, spent the summer between his freshman and sophomore years of college much differently than most of the 19 and 20 year-olds in the United States. Instead of heading home for a chance to work a summer job and reunite with old friends, the native of Lockbourne, Ohio, spent his time applying and trying out for an instructor spot within the United States’ Squad Designated Marksmanship course in Camp Perry, Ohio.
“The United States Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) contacted the CMP, asking them to get some of the best civilian instructors and marksmen to help train the troops,” Ohlinger said. “The CMP put the word out and a lot of guys like me applied. Fifty of us were admitted into the training program which was a week-long process. We went over the information the course would cover they taught it to us and then we taught it back to them. From there, the AMU selected 30 of us to be apart of the program.”
The marksmanship program was started by former AMU commander Lt. Col. David Liwanag to improve the soldiers’ shooting skills in the Army, especially important considering the technological advancements in weapons of war.
At the time and still to this day, the fourth-year varsity shooter remains one of the youngest if not the youngest members of the group.
“Generally, everyone I’ve ever worked with is retired or in their 40’s and have a good job that allows them take vacation time to work the training camps,” Ohlinger said. “I’m the only one under 30 years-old to my knowledge.”
Since joining in 2005, the Buckeye letterwinner has served his country twice, first in the winter of 2005 and most recently during Ohio State’s winter break in 2007.
In December, Ohlinger flew to Ft. Benning, Ga., to impart his shooting expertise to members of the Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion, many of which have just a basic knowledge of the complex process.
“Starting out, it is hard because what the entry level soldier in the Army considers to be long range shooting isn’t really, in fact, that far,” Ohlinger said. “But to the average soldier for all practical purposes it is. All have passed the Army’s basic training in which they have to qualify on a course in which they engage pop-up targets between 50 to 300 meters. Our goal in the marksmanship program is to double the distance so they can effectively engage with targets up to 600 meters away.”
It is here where precision and practice become paramount in the sport of rifle, Ohlinger explains. Just one slight misalignment can cause grave consequences.
“We go back to the basics,” Ohlinger said. “Basically, if you were to sum up marksmanship in one word it is consistency because you have to be consistent with every judgment when shooting at that length.”
From there, as a military rifle instructor, the Buckeye teaches the soldiers advanced marksmanship principles, focusing on how to deal with weather conditions such as wind and rain so that by the end of the course the trainees are hitting a silhouette target every time at 600 meters.
As honored as he is to continue to instruct the Army’s battalions, the political science major also is honored to be co-captain of the Ohio State rifle squad for a second-consecutive season. And in 2008, the senior looks to go out with a bang, hoping to clinch the team’s first Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference (WIRC) title since 2003.
“At Ohio State, we have a strong record of winning our league,” Ohlinger said. “But in my first three years we have not been able to do so. Other schools, like the University of Akron, have had a little bit of an edge on us because they have rifle scholarships.
“This year, the Ohio State Athletics Department has graced us with that benefit and we really appreciate it so we want to show them some return on their investment.”
From a hobby he picked up at an open clinic as a teenager, Ohlinger has turned shooting rifle into much more. Learning leadership qualities both as a teammate at Ohio State and as a civilian marksmanship instructor with the U.S. Army, Ohlinger has built a foundation to his future goals of studying constitutional law and criminal defense in law school.
And so forth, Ohlinger continues, steady as it goes, successfully hitting the milestones in his life, looking to knock off the next objective as the Buckeyes look to claim the WIRC crown as host of the conference championships at Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range in Converse Hall February 22-23 in Columbus.
by Emily Meyer, Ohio State Athletics Communications
