EWA BEACH, Hawaii- The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit’s Instructor Training Group taught advanced marksmanship training to Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment May 8-19 2023. The training built upon the foundation of basic marksmanship skills.
The Instructor Training Group is comprised of experienced combat veterans who provide tailorable marksmanship training courses to operational units globally. They provide training to Soldiers of all ability levels that meet the commander’s operational needs, while also supporting the USAMU’s mission to improve small arms lethality.
“I’ve learned a ton, a lot of this week refined our basic marksmanship skills,” said Sgt. Joe Calkin, an Orlando native and sniper team leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2-35IN. “Everything we’ve learned will be able to translate to our Soldiers and increase our organization’s lethality.”
The training focused on both pistol and rifle marksmanship, refining the shooter’s form, grip, stance, trigger control, draw speed and accuracy.
“One of the most beneficial things for me was adjusting my shooting stance, with just a small change I was able to exponentially increase my stability and increase my accuracy. Small changes I learned here made me a better shooter,” said Calkin.
Emphasis was placed on consistency and eliminating any unnecessary movements that can affect accuracy. Practicing these fundamentals in a controlled environment lays the groundwork for more complex and demanding shooting scenarios.
“Developing my shooting skills with subject matter experts is a great experience and I would highly recommend it to any Soldier out there,” said Calkin. “If you get a chance to take a course from USAMU, do it.”
In 2022, the USAMU conducted 33 MTTs (Mobile Training Teams) at military installations, including four events training 50 drill sergeants. Each MTT is 5 to 10 days and includes an initial marksmanship assessment, classroom instruction, practical exercises, and a final evaluation to measure improvements in shooting metrics and knowledge. Training is tailored to the unit’s needs, focusing on basic rifle marksmanship with the M-4 carbine and the M-17 pistol. The average cost is $50 per Soldier to conduct world-class instruction, a cost that cannot be replicated in the DoD. MTTs are a force multiplier for partner units, institutional organizations, and division-level marksmanship assets to build the Army’s lethality program through spreading expertise and relevant knowledge with emerging technologies.
Instructor Training Group Soldiers conducted 76 lethality missions in 2022, improving over 2,340 Soldiers’ lethal hit rates by 40 percent in support of the unit’s mission to enhance lethality to enable the Army to win on a complex, competitive battlefield.
By SFC Kulani Lakanaria