MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Rifles firing in the distance can be heard through open office windows. Sand and dust cover almost everything, including mounds of trophies and plaques that sit in various corners and decorate otherwise bare white walls.
The awards belong to Chief Warrant Officer-3 Dennis W. DeMille, range officer for Ranges 213 and 214, for rifle matches he competed in during his 19-year career.
The lean, 6-foot-3-inch gunslinger recently added a new trophy to his collection for a third-place finish in the National High Power Rifle Championships in August.
It?s all part of a legacy belonging to a man, who apparently was born to shoot.
Originally from the small town of Stephenson, Mich., DeMille started shooting when he was 9. He and his brothers, one older and one younger, loved the outdoors.
"We always had motorcycles, snowmobiles, guns and chain saws growing up,? he said.
"We would go out with the chainsaws and guns to cut wood for the house. While we were out, we would practice shooting. Sometimes we would string cans to clotheslines and fire at them."
DeMille learned basic techniques in a neighbor's basement and later shot with the 4-H Club.
After entering Marine Corps basic training in 1983, DeMille was accused of cheating on his score when he fired on Edson Range.
"The first day we keep score, I had a 243. That was almost unheard of with the M16A1," DeMille said.
When he fired a 243 the second day of shooting, his primary marksmanship instructor told him if he scored above 240 the next day, he would put DeMille on the Marine Corps Rifle Team.
DeMille excitedly wrote home to his mother to tell her the news. When he shot only a 232 the next day, he wrote home to set the record straight. Disappointed but not discouraged, he told his mother he would be on the team by the next year.
DeMille now says he was naive to believe the instructor?s promise. He says the instructor had no authority to put a student on the Marine Corps Rifle Team.
"I never forgot him lying to me. Fourteen years later, I took over as the range officer-in-charge of the marksmanship training unit at Edson Range. I made it a point to tell my PMIs not to lie to the recruits," he said.
After graduating from basic training in 1984, DeMille went to Infantry Training School, then was sent to the Philippines. While there, he participated in a barracks shooting competition and won. With the win, he was sent to the Pacific Division Matches in Okinawa. After placing third, he went to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to participate in the Marine Corps Matches.
DeMille kept the promise to his mother and was permanently placed on the rifle team in 1985, three weeks before she passed away.
"I was the only lance corporal. There were two sergeants and the rest of the team was staff sergeants to master gunnery sergeants," Demille said. "I was only the second lance corporal in history to go distinguished."
Distinguished Marksman Badges are given to riflemen who receive 30 points or more in competition.
During his career, DeMille won competitions in five states, sometimes more than one in a state.
Selected as a warrant officer in 1995, DeMille took over as the officer-in-charge of Edson Range.
Demille says there?s no secret to shooting.
"I use the same fundamentals taught in basic training. I just apply them to the extreme," DeMille said.
"Some people can go out, shoot everyday, be knee-deep in brass, and they still aren't at the level I was when I started. I don't know why I am better than most people. It has just never been hard for me."
He?s as steady behind a desk as he is on the range. Demille, 37, with salt-and-pepper-colored hair, doesn't fidget or move around as he speaks. He talks slowly, deliberately, thinking before he reacts.
His marksmanship attributes include 20/10 vision and large hands.
"It was a God-given talent." DeMille said.
"I keep waiting for the day when my score goes down. So far it has just gotten better, but one day I'll hit my peak, or my sight won't be as good. Until then, I'll just keep doing my best.?
He says he won?t sweat the outcome.
"When I go to a competition, I go with no pressure,? he said. ?No one remembers when you lose, they only remember when you win.?
And those memories are accumulating.
"He will never come out and say it, but he is the best shooter in the Marine Corps this year. No one can touch him," said Master Sgt. Patrick T. Tone, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Range 213 and 214.
Demille says his wife supports his shooting. They even met at a rifle competition, and later had three daughters, now 17, 13 and 9.
At the mention of his family, Demille smiles and lines form around his brown eyes.
"The trophies aren't what's really important," he said.