September/October 2011: Volume 19, Number 5 - USA Shooting

COLUMNS (Aim with AMU)
Q & A WITH JASON PARKER
By Sergeant George Norton
Jason Parker has been a household
name in the shooting sports for a long
time. In addition to his countless
National titles, world medals and
world records, Parker also won the
2011 National Champion title in both Men’s
50m Rie Prone and Men’s 50m Rie ree
Position events. Many USA Shooting News
readers know of Sergeant 1st Class Parker’s
extensive list of accolades, but they might
not know the man behind the rie. In this
month’s “AIM with AMU” column, Sgt. 1st
Class Parker talks about his life, shooting and
more.
Q: How did you get started in competitive
shooting?
A: I was 13 years old when I started shooting
competitively. For a starter rie my parents
bought me a Daisy air rie that I practiced
with in the basement of my house.
Q: Did you compete in any other sports in
your youth?
A: I’ve always enjoyed sports, so I tried just
about all of them. In addition to shooting,
the sports that I spent the most time playing
were soccer, golf and even a little bit of
tennis.
Q: Many know that you attended Xavier
University, but what did you study while you
were there?
A: I attended Xavier University in
Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1992-1996 and I
majored in Psychology.
Q: What was the highlight of your collegiate
shooting career?
A: While shooting in college I was a four
year All-American, but the highlight of my
collegiate shooting career was in 1996 during
my senior year when our team won the Air
Rie National Championship.
Q: Aer graduation, what lead you to enlist
with the U.S. Army and join the U.S. Army
Marksmanship Unit (USAMU)?
A: When I was younger I shot many of the
same competitions that the Soldiers from
the USAMU were competing in. Because of
their professionalism, I always looked up to
them and wanted to be a part of their team.
Q: Many know of the privileges of being a
member of the USAMU, but what are some of
your responsibilities o the ring line?
A: In the shooting community people always
see the U.S. Army Team competing, but one
thing they might not know is that shooting
is only the way we accomplish our missions,
not our actual mission itself. Here at the
USAMU we have three dierent aspects of
our mission that we are always working to
accomplish. ey are training Soldiers in
basic and enhanced marksmanship skills
to help them survive on the battleeld,
enhancing the recruiting eort by forging
positive images of the U.S. Army and
conducting research and development to
improve small arms weapons.
Q: Some fans may not know that in 2009 you
deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation
Enduring Freedom. Could you give us some
insight to your deployment?
A: e soldiers of the USAMU were
deployed to Afghanistan to improve the
marksmanship skill of the Afghan National
Army. ey needed to raise their level of
marksmanship prociency so that they could
ght with our American Soldiers and protect
their own country. We worked with the
Afghan basic trainees, but our focus was on
the Afghan Instructors and Drill Sergeants so
that they could continue to deliver the best
marksmanship instructions by themselves
indenitely.
Q: As the reigning Men’s 50m Rie Prone
and Men’s 50m Rie ree Position National
Champion, you must train a lot. How many
hours a week do you train and what things do
you work on?
A: How much I train and what I work on
all depends on the time of year. Most of
our matches are in the spring and early
summer, so this is when I want to be at my
peak performance levels. At this time of the
year I am training exactly like I am going to
shoot my matches. I focus on my pre-shot
routines and shot execution and ensure
that my energy levels are always where
they need to be so that I shoot my best in
competitions. During the late summer and
early fall, I spend much of my time testing
and evaluating any new equipment that I
might want to try and also ensuring that the
equipment that I have been using is in good
condition.
Q: Do you have any meals that are a part of
your pre-match diet?
A: A pre-match diet is very important to me,
especially the dinner and breakfast before the
match. ink of yourself as a nely tuned
piece of equipment. You need the best fuel
so that you can perform at your best. With
that kind of strategy, any good nutritious
food is what I look for. I stay away from
food that is high in salt, fat or any kind of
fast food.
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