Rifle Qualifications In Comfort
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 6 months ago
Marines in Hawaii are using rubberized shooting mats on the rifle range, a comfort upgrade officials credit with dramatically reducing failures during annual marksmanship qualifications.
The Puuloa Range at Marine Corps Base Hawaii was notorious for its unpleasant, uneven surface, lack of grass and blood-red dirt that threw shots and stained Marines’ uniforms. Marines who trained there were at a “clear disadvantage,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jordan Kramp, the range officer in charge.
“The condition of firing lines prohibited their ability to acquire foundational shooting positions,” Kramp said. “Hardened, overly matted-down surfaces prevented Marines from acquiring proper positions for firing, [resulting in] both firing and support elbows sliding out during specific stages of fire.”
The new mats were installed in January at the Puuloa Range’s 200-, 300- and 500-yard firing lines. Early results suggest there could be about a 90 percent reduction in the number of Marines who fail their first qualification.
“They were so comfortable especially in the prone,” said Cpl. Brittney Vella, a combat correspondent assigned to the base’s Headquarters Battalion. “If you had rocks on your elbows it was difficult to have a stable base, so the mats helped us be stable and you felt like you connected with the ground a lot better.”
Uh huh. “Connected with the ground a lot better.” Right. I’m sure the enemy will pause and let you put soft mats under your body so that you won’t have appendages and body parts slipping out from under you when you try to kill them. And don’t worry about all that mud in the jungles or dirt in the “sand box.” I’m sure all that is just exaggerated bravado.
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On May 10, 2015 at 11:35 pm, Daniel Barger said:
This would appear to be one time where winning a trophy is more important than the ‘train like you fight’ mantra. The brass is putting the trophy ahead of the reason for these competitions….to develop riflemen for combat.
On May 11, 2015 at 10:19 am, Sam Helm said:
While it may seem to be counter-intuitive, I think the use of the mats is a good idea. If a person can practice the fundamentals in at least a modicum of comfort, then they should become more like second nature. That leads to better success when the chips are on the line. Surely we can remember when we were all novices, and practiced the positions in the barracks at night, so that we would be able to use them on the line. Besides, this is only at the range, and ranges have NEVER been anything like the field. They are just a place to learn and practice (and compete ;-)).
On May 11, 2015 at 4:12 pm, Horatio Bunce said:
Funny , I remember getting fresh bodies straight out of boot/AIT and the majority could not pass the pt test upon arrival . Wanna guess when that was? I will tell you . During the Clinton years . They started a ” stress free” training program .
So what does that have to do with the above post? Simply that making the job of a soldier more cushy and easy does not carry over well onto the battlefield . I disagree that the mats make it easier to aquire the skills needed . The actual skills require you to adapt and overcome .
I have watched amazing range shooters that had perfect form etc stumble and be useless when the least amount of stress was involved . They did not train to the task . Mats are not laying around the battlefield so they should not be part of the training for it .
On May 11, 2015 at 4:52 pm, madoradataman said:
Mats may be a too much. But knee and elbow pads? Already in combat use, so why begrudge them at the range?