USA Shooting Names Official Gunsmith for 2004 Olympic Team

[USAS]

July 19, 2004



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Sgt. First Class Charles Gartland, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), has recently been approved by the U.S. Olympic Committee to be the official gunsmith for the 2004 Olympic Shooting Team.

Wanda Jewell, director of operations at USA Shooting, selected Gartland out of the pile of applicants because of a combination of school training and practical application. “He is one of the few gunsmiths nationwide who have demonstrated extensive knowledge of such a large cross-section of competition guns. He is an excellent choice to support our team and has the faith and confidence of our athletes,” Jewell said.

A native of Bardstown, Ky., Gartland attended Eastern Kentucky University in the early ‘80’s, graduating from the Colorado School of Trades. He joined the Army in 1986, and was assigned to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit as a gunsmith in 1991. Since then, Gartland has won several medals for his accomplishments at the USAMU, including an Army Commendation Medal for his work on the M-9 pistol, which he transformed into the most accurate service pistol in the Department of Defense

Throughout his 13 years of working with the USAMU, Gartland has been the gunsmith for three Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) or World Military Olympics. In 1999, Gartland was the official U.S. Shooting Team gunsmith at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.

“I am always excited to travel with the U.S. Shooting Team,” Gartland says. “But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They can pick anyone they want and it was an honor just to be considered for the Olympics, much less chosen.”

For more information on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team, please log on to www.usashooting.org; or contact USA Shooting’s media director, Sara Greenlee at 719-866-4896.