MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO Va. -- Staff Sgt. Jonathan Shue is a competitor/instructor for the Marine Corps Shooting Team.
Shue recently won his ninth award during the pistol championship in Haw River at the North Carolina State Championship, on Oct. 20, with a score of 2,643 out of 2,700, beating the competition by 24 points.
To his friends and superiors, he is looked at as a role model and an example.
“He is a shooter who shows an enormous amount of mental discipline. If I had half the amount of discipline he has then I would be twice the shooter I am now,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Martin Dankanich, officer in charge, Marine Corps Pistol Team. “Not only does he perform on demand, but he also performs well ahead of the demand. That is what separates him from the other shooters.”
However, he didn’t always know his way around the pistol. In fact, during his first competition at Okinawa, in 2004 he was very close to finishing in last place.
“At the time I didn’t consider myself a very good shooter and my heart just wasn’t into it,” said Shue as he pointed to himself. “But when the awards were being presented, something in my mind told me I could have done it if I had tried. I vowed from that day on I would always try.”
Shue’s hard work and dedication soon drew the attention of the Marine Corps Shooting Team.
“I didn’t even know what the Marine Corps Shooting Team was, but when I found out, all I could think about was what do I have to do to get there.” said Shue.
His first attempt to join the team was a failure, but to his peers Shue is not someone who quits after the first try.
“As a Marine machinist, everything he does has to be perfect and when he sets his mind to something, nothing will get in his way,” said Sgt. Thomas Perez Jr., competitor/instructor, Marine Corps Rifle Team.
Shue’s second attempt stuck and, in the summer of 2012, he earned a spot on the team. His reason for joining the team was not only to improve his skills, but to pass on his knowledge to the Marines who will follow him.
“Sure the awards and trophy’s are nice, but at the end of the day, all that stuff is is a byproduct of what I came here to do,” said Shue. “If you can’t use what you have learned to teach others, then you have failed yourself as a human being.”
Today, you could find him down at the range, dry firing in hopes of perfecting his skills.
“Shue is shooting well, he just does not realize how well he is doing,” said Dankanich.
Correspondent: cuong.le@usmc.mil