Creating Better Marksmen out of Riflemen

摘要

In response to the declining marksmanship of Marines, a conference was hosted by Training and Education Command's Marksmanship Programs Section (MPS) on April 12, 2005. Marine Corps Infantry Weapons Officers ('Gunners,' MOS 0306) and Marine Corps Range Officers (MOS 9925) were invited to this conference as subject matter experts. Their task was to 'fix' Marine marksmanship, specifically targeting the requalifying course or Sustainment- Level Rifle Marksmanship (SLR) course of fire. The eventual outcome resulted in getting rid of the SLR course and developing an entirely new approach and attitude toward 'field' or combat firing. The new course of fire hit the fleet October 1, 2005 and will begin a one year review period. While Marines across the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) will certainly notice that the rules and course have changed, it is yet to be seen whether their attitudes and overall proficiency will increase. Ultimately, the problems identified and changes implemented in the new course of fire will be an upgrade and will improve Marine marksmanship. However, it will fail to significantly improve the combat shooting skills of MAGTF Marines because Fleet commanders will not embrace the new plan and it will not break the individual Marines check-in-the- box mentality.