Marksmanship on Display at DoD Warrior Games

By Karen Parrish

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2015 – Tomorrow's competition at the 2015 Defense Department Warrior Games will feature shooting, long the foundation of success in battle.

This year’s Warrior Games began June 19 at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and run through June 28.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines -- all sponsoring competitors in this year’s Games -- place varying emphasis on marksmanship skills in their initial training phases for recruits, based on their core missions.

Service Requirements

Army:

-- Week four, marksmanship training, starting with issue of the Army’s individual standard weapon, the M16A2. According to the Army’s website, “You will be taught everything there is to know about this weapon. Learning to shoot a rifle is more than pulling the trigger. Marksmanship courses will teach you not only the proper way to hold a weapon, but also how to breathe and shoot from many different positions.”

-- Week five, trials, including the basic rifle marksmanship qualification course.

Navy:

-- Week four, weapon safety training, weapon on-range training.

Air Force:

-- Week one, weapon issue, weapon parts identification.

-- Week two, weapon handling and maintenance.

-- Week four, weapons evaluation [breakdown and assembly].

Marine Corps:

-- Week 1, marksmanship basics “without firing ammunition [and] while sitting, kneeling, standing and lying down,” according to the Marine Corps site. “Marksmanship instructors teach recruits that the principle difference between pulling a trigger and being a rifleman is having complete control over their rifle and their body.”

-- Week 2, firing week: live fire exercises, learning to fire from any position and at ranges of 200, 300 and 500 yards. Recruits begin with 50 rounds of “slow fire,” one shot at a time, and progress to rapid fire with 10 shots in a row.

“On qualification day,” according to the Marine Corps, “recruits strive for their highest score out of 250 points on the Field Fire portion and the Known Distance course. They will earn the Rifle Marksman badge, the Rifle Sharpshooter badge or the coveted ‘Crossed Rifles’ badge.”