The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) mourns the death of LTC Bob Aylward, a revered and respected colleague, on 14 September 2025 at the age of 74. I first met Bob in the late 1960s when he was a high school rifle team member in San Francisco. Bob went on to become one of the giants of American marksmanship. I have had the privilege of being a friend and colleague of Bob Aylward through his remarkable career and I am honored to tell the CMP family about this truly extraordinary person.
Robert W. Aylward was born in San Francisco in 1951. He completed grade and high school there. Bob recalled joining a BB gun shooting program at a YMCA during that time. In the 1960s, his Abraham Lincoln High School had a rifle team, as did other high schools in the city. Bob distinguished himself even then by seeking to excel as a team member. He competed in both the San Francisco Gallery League and the East Bay Gallery League. That is where I came to know him and encourage him to strive to advance in our sport. I remember writing a letter of recommendation that contributed to his being awarded a rifle scholarship at Tennessee Tech University. He excelled there too. He became a four-time All-American who contributed to Tennessee Tech’s NCAA Rifle Team Championship in 1971.
That was about the time when Bob gave our family a gift that became an Anderson family heirloom. After our daughter was born in 1970, Bob Aylward sent a teddy bear for her. That teddy bear became her favorite stuffed animal. The teddy bear went everywhere she went until it was so worn and ragged it could no longer be carried. It eventually had to be recovered to keep it from falling apart. This may have been a small gesture on his part, but it says a lot about the kind of person Bob was and how he related to those who knew him. The teddy bear still holds a cherished place in our family treasures.
Bob was a Distinguished Military Graduate at TTU and destined to spend significant parts of his military career at the Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). He was assigned to USAMU as an International Rifle Shooter, but new International Rifle shooters at USAMU can expect to shoot Service Rifle at the National Matches a time or two. Bob took his turn on the Army Service Rifle Team when he shot on the Army’s National Trophy Team in 1975. The Army won the National Trophy Team Match that year with Bob shooting as their “new shooter.” Bob’s 490-18X score won the Pershing Trophy in 1975 as the highest individual score of any competitor in the Team Match. The irony of this story is that even though Bob outshot everyone in the 1975 National Trophy Team Match, he did not continue with Service Rifle and never became a Distinguished Rifleman.
During Bob’s 20-year career in the Army, he served in duty assignments at Fort Gordon (GA), Korea, Germany and as an Army ROTC Instructor at Lafayette College. His awards for exceptional military service included the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and an Army Achievement Medal. He finished his career by returning to USAMU to conclude his 20-year military career as well as his international shooting competition career.
Bob Aylward’s competition career featured successful participation in the 1983 Pan American Games and 1985 Championship of the Americas where he won four individual gold medals. His crowning achievement came in the 1986 World Championship (see photo above) where he joined Lones Wigger and Glenn Dubis on the USA 300m Rifle Team that won three silver medals. He was awarded U. S. International Shooter Badge #285 in 1983. He was inducted into the USAMU Hall of Fame in 2014.
LTC Aylward retired from the Army in 1993. He returned to the USAMU a few months later to begin 30-years of service as their Deputy Commander/Executive Officer. In that role, Bob Aylward clearly was a difference maker who ensured that USAMU would continue in its role as a leader of American Marksmanship. Bob’s skill at working with the Army bureaucracy to obtain approvals for USAMU priorities was legendary. Memorialization proposals that named Fort Benning facilities and ranges after other USAMU heroes Jim McHugh, Tommy Pool, Bill Krilling, Bill Pullum and Lones Wigger probably would not have happened without Bob’s persistent and skilled administrative endeavors.
During this time, Bob also served the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) with distinction. In 2012, he was elected to be a member of the ISSF Technical Committee where he became a passionate and effective advocate for protecting the Olympic Games’ status of the ISSF rifle discipline. He continued in that position through 2024.
The last years of Bob’s life were a true profile-in-courage. A throat cancer diagnosis 13 years ago led to one of the most courageous battles against that dread disease any of us have ever known. Countless chemotherapy and radiation sessions challenged but did not defeat Bob’s indomitable will to live and continue serving the causes he cared for.
So many of us have been truly blessed by Bob Aylward’s life work and we are grateful for his gifts to us. All of us in the CMP family extend our sincere condolences to Bob’s wife Jennie, to his family and to all who were blessed by this exceptional person.
We’ve lost a great one, Gary Anderson, DCME.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation that places its highest priority on firearms safety and marksmanship activities, with a focus on youth. CMP’s programs encourage personal growth and build life skills, with such initiatives as its junior training and competition programs, Affiliated Club program and scholarships providing support to citizens of all backgrounds across the nation. Learn more about the CMP at https://thecmp.org/.
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