FORT DEVENS, Mass. –
Tech Sgt. Michael Strempfer, an aerospace ground equipment mechanic with the 157th Air Refueling Wing won the overall championship for combined arms in the 2025 New Hampshire National Guard Combat Marksmanship Competition held July 16 to 19 at Fort Devens.
The four-day shoot, known as the TAG Match, tested 78 NHNG soldiers and airmen as well as military operators from state partners
Fuerza Armada de El Salvador and Cabo Verde.
“We need to out innovate and out compete in order to win the future battleground tomorrow,” said NH Adjutant Gen. David Mikolaities, a longtime participant of the annual competition. “That means being here, getting in the repetitions and mastering the fundamentals.”
This year’s TAG Match featured 10 marksmanship skill events, using both the M17 pistol and M16 rifle. Scoring was weighted by team and individual efforts. For the first time in four years, the Salvadorans did not win the team match. In a separate competition with Cabo Verde and a stacked New Hampshire team, they came in second.
Different events included elements such as rapid fire, time constraints under 10 seconds, running before engaging with targets, firing distances varying from 10 yards to 500 yards, and dominant-arm-only firing.
The new state command sergeant major, Caleb Smith, competed for the first time.
“I always look forward to seeing soldiers and teams out doing their basic soldier tasks,” Smith said. “Shooting is a fundamental soldier skill, so I’m out here to do it, and I will definitely be back.”
The purpose of the TAG Match, Smith continued, is to provide an opportunity for soldiers and airmen to train as a group, practice and master their marksmanship skills in a competition-based environment.
"I came here to see how well I can shoot under pressure in a competitive environment,” said Pfc. Daniel Svendsen, an infantryman with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain). “This is my second year doing this event, and I've improved from last year after going through all the events and getting more time to fire."