The President’s Hundred tab is more rare than Sapper, Ranger, or even Special Forces

Let’s be clear: a tab doesn’t make a good soldier, let alone a good leader. Graduating from Ranger School, the Sapper Leader Course, or the prestigious Special Forces Qualification “Q” Course allows a soldier to wear the corresponding tab on their uniform; this is often used as a measure of a soldier with troops “tab-checking” each other.

While these schools are rigorous, and graduating from one is an absolute honor, there are great Army leaders who don’t have one of these tabs for one reason or another. That said, there is one tab that is more rare and is worn with precedence over the big three.

Sapper is a tough, 28-day course with a graduation rate of 40-50% and 120-150 graduates annually. Ranger School has a greater throughput with 1,600-1,700 annual graduates, but the 61-day school still has an attrition rate of about 60%. The grueling Q Course lasts between 56 and 95 weeks, and only 20-40% of candidates earn their Green Beret with an annual graduation pool of 500-700 soldiers.

In contrast, the tab that is worn above these three sees about 600 people competing for it annually with no more than 200 earning it.

The President’s Hundred Match is a bullseye shooting competition that traces its roots back to 1878. The match is broken up between rifle and one-hand pistol target shooting.

As its name indicates, the top 100 shooters in rifle and top 100 shooters in pistol will be recognized as part of the “President’s Hundred.” Competitors are allowed to participate in both rifle and pistol shooting with the opportunity to make the top 100 in both events.

Originally called the American Military Rifle Championship Match, the competition is patterned after the British National Rifle Association’s “Queen’s Prize” shooting competition, the name was changed to the President’s Match for the Military Rifle Championship of the United States in 1884. 20 years later, President Theodore Roosevelt started the tradition of awarding the competition’s winner a Presidential letter.

In 1957, the prestigious match was renamed to the President’s Hundred. Today, the competition is held at Camp Perry, Ohio by the Civilian Marksmanship Program and is open to civilian, law enforcement, and military shooters alike.

The President’s Rifle Course consists of 30 total shots across three stages: 10 slow-fire standing shots at 200 yards with a 10-minute time limit, 10 rapid-fire shots at 300 yards in a prone-from-standing position in 70 seconds, and a 10-shot slow-fire stage at 600 yards from the prone with another 10-minute time limit.

A final stage is held for the top 20 competitors from the first three stages, consisting of 10 slow-fire shots from the prone at 600 yards with 50 seconds allotted for each shot.

Though the CMP Service Rifle definition allows different platforms for the competition, most shooters use an M16/AR-15-type rifle. Still, that doesn’t stop some competitors from bring out the old guns like classic M1 Garands and 1903 Springfield rifles.

The President’s Pistol Course consists of 40 total shots, all standing: two series of 10, 50-yard slow-fire shots with 10 minutes per series; two series of 5, 25-yard timed-fire shots with 20 seconds per series; and two series of 5, 25-yard rapid-fire shots with 10 seconds per series.

Like with rifle, the CMP defines what weapons qualify for Service Pistol competition shooting. Many shooters elect to use genuine or commercial versions of service pistols like the 1911, M9, or M17/M18. Once again, CMP rules permit other service pistols from manufacturers like Glock, CZ, and FN.

Camp Perry is located on the shore of Lake Erie and the President’s Hundred Match is held in July. Not only do shooters have to contend with shooting under pressure at distance, they also have to account for environmental factors like heat and wind.

For military competitors who place in the top 100 of rifle and/or pistol shooters, the President’s Hundred tab is authorized for wear on some uniforms. Unfortunately, the Marine Corps does not allow the wearing of the tab on any service uniform—something about every Marine being a rifleman.

For soldiers, airmen, and guardians, the subdued tab can be worn on OCPs and the nonsubdued tab can be worn on the service uniform. Only enlisted coastguardsmen are allowed to wear the tab on their ODUs.

While the President’s Hundred tab is worn with precedence over all other tabs, this is due to the fact that the tab is longer than any of the others. Just remember that you can only have three tabs on your OCP shoulder sleeve—and good luck fitting them all above a 1st Cavalry Division patch.

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