Tribal Elders: The USMC Weapons Training Battalion
We're going to spend some time telling you about the weapons that Marines carry into battle. We'll visit an outfit dedicated to the idea that, even in a world full of laser-guided bombs and missiles, there is still a need for one well-aimed shot from a weapon held by human hands. The place is the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia, and the unit is the Marine Corps Weapons Training Battalion. On the Quantico reservation, inland from Interstate 95, stands a small cluster of buildings, mostly of World War II vintage. This is the home of the Weapons Training Battalion, the U.S. Marine Corps' premier shooting unit. Established in 1952 after the nightmare of the Korean War proved how much the Marine Corps needed to hone its shooting skills, the battalion operates sixteen different shooting ranges, classroom facilities, an ammunition loading and packing plant, and a complete gunsmithing and machine shop. Here the Corps trains the best shooters in the U.S. military, while maintaining a capability to build and maintain customized firearms. If you are a gun enthusiast like me, this is Firearms Heaven.
Colonel Mick Nance commands the Weapons Battalion. He will tell you that he has one of the best jobs in the Corps. Backing him up is Sergeant Major F.W. Fenwick, command NCO for the battalion. The unit is the Corps' repository of corporate knowledge on the subject of shooting all kinds of portable weapons and using explosives as breaching tools. Preserving and improving the shooting skills of the Corps is no small job, and Colonel Nance's Marines work hard. Some of their missions include the following. They:
• Write and maintain all the training courses for marksmanship and small-arms training in the USMC.
• Run the Marine Marksmanship Training Program and supervise the Common Skills Qualification Data Base across the Corps.
• Train every Marine officer candidate from the officer's school (on the other side of the Quantico base) in marksmanship. Both men and women come to the Weapons Training Battalion in mixed companies to master weapons skills.
• Train and qualify Marine personnel in several Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes related to marksmanship and small arms.
• Participate in operational testing and evaluation of all new small arms, ammunition, and breaching and demolition systems fielded by the Corps.
• Assist in training and arming Marine Corps rifle and pistol competition shooting teams.
• Run an ammunition load and pack facility. Every year, this facility loads over 100,000 rounds of ammunition for the Marine shooting teams.
• Develop specialized weapons, demolition, and breaching tools for unique Marine applications.
• Manufacture, modify, issue, and maintain a variety of Marine Corps firearms, including the M1911 .45-caliber MEU (SOC) pistol.
• Conduct the "High Risk Personnel" anti-terrorism course for diplomats and other personnel assigned to overseas posts.
• Maintain weapons and ammunition storage for the FBI, CIA, DEA, and other agencies that utilize the Quantico range complex.
The Weapons Training Battalion has an impressive cadre of trained and experienced personnel. Like the elders of a tribe, the men and women of the battalion have a broad and deep base of practical knowledge, whether acquired in the classroom, at the workbench, or on the battlefield.
Consider the training of rifle marksmanship for new officers at Quantico. The course looks like this:
Phase I— Familiarization: Officer candidates are introduced to the M 16A2 combat rifle, with particular emphasis on cleaning, maintenance, and aligning the sights (called "zeroing" the sights). The classroom basics of shooting are taught, as well as some practice in shooting house simulators, which use modified weapons firing compressed gas.
Phase II— Known Range Firing: This is actual range training and qualification at known ranges in a variety of postures, with fixed (stationary) targets. During this phase, the proper grips on the weapon, use of the sights, and compensation for crosswind, elevation, and weather are taught and certified.
Phase III— Unknown Range Firing ("Ironman") Training: This is the really hard part of the training, with firing against moving targets at unknown ranges. The officer candidate must rapidly assess the range and crossing rate of a pop-up target. Each candidate is given two magazines, with a total of thirty-five rounds, and twenty-nine targets to hit. A score of twenty-five out of thirty-five is considered good; sixteen is poor.
By teaching basic concepts, mixing in a dash of simulated skills training (Phase I), building upon these with actual dynamic training (Phase II), and then testing in a real-world context (Phase III), the Marines produce a rifle combatant who can take and hold a position, and make an enemy think twice about trying to take it back.
The Marines of the battalion pass along the hard-earned knowledge that goes with their trade to the new generations on the way up in the Corps. Some of the courses (designated by MOS numbers) that they run include:
• MOS 8531—Rifle Range Coach/Instructor: This course qualifies an enlisted Marine to safely run a firearms range and to teach the current doctrine and skills to recruits or officer candidates.
• MOS 8532-Small Arms Weapons Instructor: An advanced version of the 8531 course, it emphasizes additional skills and concepts over a wider range of weapons and environments, particularly follow-up and proficiency training. Each MEU (SOC) would likely have one or more of these instructors.
• MOS 9925—Range Officer: Assigned to supervise and manage the official training and shooting ranges of the Corps. Only thirty-two Marines can hold this designation at one time.
• MOS 0306-Infantry Weapons Officer: The officer version of the 8532 course. A MEU (SOC) or regiment would likely have one such officer assigned.
• MOS 8541-Scout/Sniper: This is the famous eight-week course that turns a Marine into the most deadly shooter in the U.S. arsenal, an 8541 Scout/Sniper. With a 40 % dropout rate, it is one of the toughest courses in the U.S. military. Once a Marine completes this course, he is qualified to be assigned to a Scout/Sniper platoon in a MEU (SOC) or other unit.
• MOS 8542—Advanced Scout/Sniper: This five week follow-up to the 8541 course teaches more advanced leadership, tracking, navigation, shooting, and weapons skills.
• MOS 2112-Gunsmith: This is, perhaps, the most traditional course in the Weapons Training Battalion curriculum. It is designed to make a Marine into a completely qualified machinist and gunsmith. You would likely find a 2112 in every MEU (SOC), regiment, or major training base in the Corps. More than a course, it is a virtual apprenticeship. The first six months are spent teaching trainees to build their own tools and jigs. After that, they learn everything from welding broken parts to turning blanks into rifle barrels.