Two U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) instructors, Sgt. Aaron Eddins and Staff Sgt. Jacob Hetherington, are slated to compete at the 2025 International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) World Shoot Handgun Championships in South Africa, scheduled for September 2227. Both are assigned to the USAMU at Fort Benning, Georgia, and will represent the United States as part of the U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) delegation at a five-day, 30-stage match that draws a global field. Organizers list participation from more than 50 nations, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Brazil, Venezuela, Kenya, China, Serbia, Ukraine, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Germany, Paraguay, France, Canada, and the Philippines. Eddins describes the World Shoot as the Olympics of practical shooting, a label backed by its long history and international scope. The first championship was held in Zurich in 1975, where American Ray Chapman took gold. In 1990, American Doug Koenig became the first champion to win using a red-dot sight, foreshadowing the sports embrace of optics. By 1993, IPSC formalized equipment divisions to ensure parity between optics-equipped and iron-sight pistols. For 2025, six divisions are confirmed: classic, open, production, production optics, revolver, and standardeach with its own ruleset and equipment profile. Selection to national teams required sustained results. According to the team outline, athletes had to shoot four designated qualifiers, with their best three scores combined; each country then selected its top four shooters per division. In open, Eddins lines up with civilians Christian Sailer, Bryan Jones, and John Vliegerone American quartet inside an individual open field of 358, with a parallel team race against 35 countries. In production optics, Hetherington joins civilians JJ Racaza, Tom Castro, and Jay Beal, entering a lane with 447 individual competitors and 40 country teams. The structure guarantees deep competition on both individual and team leaderboards. USAMUs Action Shooting Team brings a proven rsum to this stage. Alumni including Travis Tomasie, Max Michel, KC Eusebio, and Shane Coley have medaled at prior IPSC championships; in 2008, USAMU juniors swept the podium when Eusebio, Brad Balsley, and Coley claimed gold, silver, and bronze. Although the unit reduced international starts for a period due to administrative factors, it has renewed its global focus. Within the Army, USAMU is also known for success in Olympic-style disciplines such as 10-meter air rifle, 50-meter smallbore, trap, and skeet. Recent mileage is part of the 2025 story. Eddins reports seven international starts over the last three years, experience that helps normalize travel and match-day variables. Hetherington, who earned the highest qualifying points in production optics, booked his berth via the French Nationals, Extreme Euro in the Czech Republic, and the Viking Extreme in Denmark. He also competed at a World Shoot in 2014 as a member of the U.S. Junior Production Team, earning an individual silver while the U.S. squad captured team gold in production. The match design in South Africa will test consistency more than any single flash performance. Over five days, competitors face 30 stages divided into short (12 rounds or fewer), medium (1324), and long (2532) coursesnearly 600 scored rounds in total. The event is organized into five areas with six stages per day, a cadence that emphasizes stage planning, visual discipline, and error management under time pressure. Team USA is slated to begin on September 22, aligning its daily rotations with the broader international schedule.