Military Marksmanship Association Formerly AMUA - Army Marksmanship Unit Association

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2003 Association Soldier of the Year SSG Joe D. Harless Staff Sergeant Joe D. Harles, a Gunsmith with the US Army Marksmanship Unit, was selected as the Military Marksmanship Association Soldier of the Year for 2003. The association's President, Colonel (Retired) "Arch" Arnold, made the announcement at the Annual Membership Meeting on January 23, 2004. The Soldier of the Year award is a trophy pistol donated by Smith & Wesson Corporation. Special thanks to Smith & Wesson Corporation for their continued support of the MMA Soldier of the Year and for their generous donation of the trophy pistol. Staff Sergeant Joe D. Harless, a pistol gunsmith with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, is a native of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. SSG Harless graduated from Tahlequah High School in 1982. He then studied to be an automotive technician at Oklahoma State Technical College in Olkmulgee, Oklahoma, in 1984, and in 1994 graduated from Trinidad State Junior College of Trinidad, Colorado, where he majored in gunsmithing. SSG Harless joined the Army in January 1986 and completed Basic and Infantry Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He graduated from Air Assault School in 1987 and served with the 3rd U.S. Infantry, Old Guard, at Fort Myer, Virginia, before joining the Army Marksmanship Unit Custom Firearms Shop in October 1995. SSGHarless specialized in service pistol gunsmithing and contributed to the Army Marksmanship Unit Service Pistol Team winning the 2000 Service Pistol Center Fire Championship, the 1998 and 1999 National and Interservice Service Pistol Championships, and Army Marksmanship Unit Service Pistol shooters winning the FORSCOM Trophy in 1998 and 1999. He then trained himself on action pistols and now contributes to the success of the USAMU Action Shooting Team. SSG Harless and his wife, Dawn, live in Columbus, Georgia, and have two children, Jesse and Jaime. Photographs and biographical data provided by Paula J. Randall Pagán, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Public Affairs Office, (706) 545-5436. Biographical data edited by the Association’s Webmaster. Back to Top