For the second year in a row, shooters from the Illinois Army National Guard have taken top honors in the All-Army Small Arms Championship held at Fort Benning, Georgia. The annual event is held to develop shooting skills as well as determine the best marksmen in military units that range from National Guard outfi ts to regular Army to ROTC outposts. More than 200 shooters competed in the four-day competition that lasted from March 12 until March 18, and with ammunition being provided for free, there was plenty of lead fl ying, with M9 pistols and M16 rifl es provided in the event shooters couldn’t bring their own. The fi ve-member team from the Land of Lincoln that bested 34 other teams from throughout the nation featured shooters from different National Guard units from such places as Peoria, Bartonville, Mendota and Sparta. Dressed in fatigues and helmets, competitors didn’t just sit and shoot. To guard against couch potatoes, competitors were also required to run and engage in other forms of physical activity. “For the past two years, they have been the best,” Maj. Gen. Michael Zerbonia of Chatham, who is assistant adjutant general of the Illinois Army National Guard, said in a written statement. “It makes me feel proud that we, as a team in Illinois, come together, work hard and succeed in exercises and competitions.”