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That's a bit of a stretch. Of the entire military, less than half are actual combat troops. While everyone does and should get firearms familiarization training
by stirfrykitty 8y ago
That's a bit of a stretch. Of the entire military, less than half are actual combat troops. While everyone does and should get firearms familiarization training, only the combat troops have regular contact with weapons.
I served 8 years in the USMC and was in a combat MOS. I doubt there was a weapon in the inventory we didn't touch on a somewhat regular basis (individual and crew served). In my units, our commanders were positively insistent we learned not only our own weapon systems, but also those of potential enemies. To that effect, there were a number of captured AK-47s, AK-74s, RPKs, Makarov, Tokarev, Mosin-Nagant, you name it in our unit armory. We learned them all (and cleaned them all). We also learned the weapons systems of our allies, like the British, French, and Israelis when we had military exchange programs, which are tons of fun.
Unless you are in a combat MOS, you are pretty safe being in the rear with the gear, as it were.
- jki275 8y agoActually less than 10% are combat MOS -- the USMC may be significantly more though. The vast majority are techs and support troops.
- stirfrykitty 8y agoThe USMC is significantly more. Everyone in the USMC is first and foremost a rifleman. Your actual MOS is secondary. The other branches are the opposite. You do your job primarily with weapons training and use a far outside possibility. The USMC has the most strenuous small arms requirements outside of actual special forces. It starts in boot camp and you must qualify every year until reaching E-8 or 0-5, respectively. The Corps is HUGE on marksmanship, and Marines are expected to hit targets out to 500M with iron sights, although these days, the kids get ACOGS, which I didn't have. Pistol out to 25M. Your promotion, in part, depends on how well you do. No one wants to go unq (unqualified) or not much better, wear the lowest level, which is Marksman (referred to as Pizza Box) due to the shape of the medal one must wear on their uniform.
- leroy_masochist 8y ago> Everyone in the USMC is first and foremost a rifleman. Your actual MOS is secondary. The other branches are the opposite. Maybe put down the POG Kool-Ade and take a deep breath? > although these days, the kids get ACOGS, which I didn't have If you were the Commandant would you change this? Everyone has an ACOG on their weapon in the fleet; doesn't it make sense to train like you fight?
- jki275 8y agoHe's exactly correct. The ACOG vs iron sight thing has been a discussion for a long time. Basic marksmanship is better taught with iron sights, scopes are awesome for real use.
- leroy_masochist 8y ago> Basic marksmanship is better taught with iron sights, scopes are awesome for real use. Do we care about achieving some kind of platonic ideal of proper marksmanship instruction, or do we care about familiarizing Marines with the weapons system configuration they are going to actually use if they one day have the privilege of launching rounds down a two-way range? To be clear these are not mutually exclusive -- you still learn marksmanship when you qual with an ACOG, despite the protestations of Old Corps internet hardos -- but the latter should still be the priority. The whole KD range routine is outdated anyway, no matter how much nostalgia we may have for the RSOs' funny hats and the "youmayfirewhenyourTAAAAAAAAARGETappears" spiel delivered over the inevitably shitty loudspeaker.
- jki275 8y agoshooting on a pop up range is cool, but without the basic marksmanship fundamentals it's missing something. It's not a "platonic ideal", basic marksmanship is the foundation of all shooting. If you can't do it, you shouldn't be on a pop up range or any other. I'm not claiming that shooting with an acog is bad, and they're used plenty in training -- but an acog is a crutch if you don't know how to shoot. Anybody can shoot well with a scope, it takes real work to get hits at 500 yards with iron sights. Your fundamentals must be perfect, and that's the standard the USMC has always held.