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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - For Master Sgt. Julia Watson, this
year's Competition-In-Arms Program (CIAP) Western Divisional
marksmanship competition aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton,
Calif., was far from her first rodeo.
With more than 20 years
of competitive service shooting, Watson has persevered through
ubiquitous changes in the CIAP format in mastering everything from
the old Corps M14 with iron sights, to the modern M16A4 and Advanced
Combat Optical Gunsight.
What has remained untouched is her
unyielding desire to be the best marksman that she could possibly
be.
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Master Sergeant Julia Watson, an instructor for the Marksmanship
Training Unit at Marine Forces Reserve New Orleans, sights in during
her prep-time prior to the third string of fire of the
Competition-In-Arms Program Western Divisional team rifle match at
the Wilcox Range aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.,
March 5, 2014. Watson, a native of Provo, Utah, became the fourth
female Marine to earn a distinguished badge in both the rifle and
the pistol, following the results of the 2014 CIAP Western
Divisional.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Marchetti)
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“There's always a hunger to compete. When it's just you
and that weapon on the firing line, it's just you
individually,” said Watson, an instructor for the
Marksmanship Training Unit at Marine Forces Reserve New
Orleans. “It's what your eye sees, it's what your trigger
finger does, and nobody can influence your results except
for you. For me, the challenge is always in making myself
better. There's a constant hunger for self-improvement.”
As Watson stepped across the stage of the MCB Camp
Pendleton theatre March 7, during the conclusion of the CIAP
western divisional, she made history by becoming only the
fourth double distinguished female Marine in both the rifle
and pistol.
In order to earn the title of a
distinguished marksman with either the rifle or pistol, a
Marine must accumulate 30 points in CIAP sponsored
competitions. The top ten percent of competitors bring home
medals ranging from bronze to gold. A gold medal rewards the
competitor 10 points toward becoming distinguished, and
silver and bronze loot eight and six points, respectively.
“I came here to get those final eight points I
needed to become distinguished with the pistol, and I
accomplished that with a silver medal finish,” said Watson,
a native of Provo, Utah. “I've only personally met one
double distinguished female Marine and have heard of a
couple others. When I step on to that stage on Friday and
accept my award, it'll be hard to believe that I am one of a
select few female Marines to receive such an honor.”
Watson proclaims her love for shooting blossomed before her
days in the Marine Corps. This sole passion was a large
factor in her joining the revered institution.
“I
started competing in the national championships with the M14
service rifle in 1992, when I was 16 years old. That's when
I was really introduced to the Marine Corps, along with all
the other services,” said Watson. “I could only grow so much
on the civilian side and that's one of the reasons why I
joined the Marine Corps - to take it to the next level and
hopefully gain the opportunity to compete on the Marine
Corps shooting team.”
Merely a year before attaining
her distinguished rifle badge in 1997, Watson was a “tyro,”
- or first-time shooter, at her first CIAP divisional match.
There she initiated her perennial journey as a competitive
marksman and exceeded everyone's expectations of a newcomer.
“My first divisional competition was here at the western
divisional in 1996. I was the high tyro and took silver, so
I was able to go on to the Marine Corps championships,” said
Watson. “I didn't place there, but I shot well enough with
the M14 that the team picked me up for the national
tournament ... I was given plenty of opportunities to make
mistakes and learn from them, so that I'm not only a better
shooter, but an instructor as well.”
Watson claims
that traveling around the world and being an ambassador of
Corps marksmanship during her stints on the Marine Corps
Rifle Team has significantly aided her overall development
as a Marine.
“When you get to a certain level of
national and international competition, you're an ambassador
for the Marine Corps,” said Watson. “When you wear this
uniform, people look at you to be that example. They look at
the total person - so not only do you need to have the right
character and professional skills - you also need to be able
to impart your knowledge.”
Before the competition
began, and during the mandatory classroom hours for the CIAP
participants, Watson gave a quick class on the importance of
mental management in which she explained how shooting is
just as much psychological as it is physical.
This
very class enlightened the victor of the rifle competition
Lance Cpl. Brandon King, a Marine based out of Marine Air
Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. Having beaten
her out for first place, Watson said King approached her and
thanked her for the mental confidence he needed to win the
prestigious competition in only his first attempt.
“The most rewarding feeling is taking a Marine under my wing
and mentoring them and then having them beat me,” said
Watson. “I get more joy and satisfaction watching somebody
that I've trained excel than I do going across the stage
myself."
As her years as a participant in these CIAP
competitions dwindle down, Watson said she had embraced her
role as a mentor with open arms.
“I think
marksmanship has helped me recognize that people look to me
to be that example; it makes me do the best I can to impart
my knowledge about shooting to my junior Marines so that I
can give back to the Marine Corps the best way that I can,”
said Watson. “It's helped me cue into identifying problems
in shooters' fundamentals and their mental management so
that I can help them and make them the best shooters that
they can possibly be.”
Giving back to the Marine
Corps is a virtue that Watson holds on the highest pedestal.
Her guidance goes far beyond adequately preparing Marines
for rifle qualifications and shooting competitions; it makes
these Marines formidable in the domain in which they have
cemented their legacy over the past 238 years.
“If
I'm able to impart any Marine here with some sort of skill -
something that will take them up a notch as a Marine and
warfighter - and they one day use that skill to save their
life or the life of a Marine next to them, then I have done
my part,” said Watson. “To take that higher knowledge back,
it secures our nation and brings people back to their
families. That's what I hope to leave with these Marines.”
By U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James Marchetti
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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