recruiters had sent to Parris Island. Every letter I saw was a message of deep, personal gratitude from the new Marine, thanking the recruiter for showing the path to a new life. This is the payoff for a recruiter who has had too many rejections and not enough commitments. Or, as Gunny Hazzard likes to point out, this is what the Corps is all about — finding young people and showing them a path to a life of service and honor.
Small Arms
THIS IS MY RIFLE. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.
My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will….
My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit….
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights, and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will….
Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace.
The ethos of the Marine Corps is not found in the technology of its weapons, but in the character and morale of the individual Marine with a rifle in the presence of an enemy. Back in the 1970s, when the Marines were still short on the new anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), there was a Marine officer training a class on anti-armor tactics. When the instructor was asked what weapon was best against heavy enemy armored vehicles, he showed a slide of the Marine Corps emblem, saying, 'Gentlemen, this is your best weapon.' Just being Marines was their best weapon. Themselves.
While better equipped than a quarter century ago, today's Marine Corps is still taking young men and women and making each one into a lethal fighter. Marines are also taught that they are likely to find themselves thinking and acting on their own in situations requiring great responsibility-operating alone, making decisions, and taking actions that represent American policy. A recent recruiting poster showed a Marine sniper and his rifle in full camouflage, with the words 'Smart Weapon.'
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
