Posted: 11/4/2014 2:27:14 AM EDT
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I guess this applies to any branch, but I'm specifically interested in how it works on the army's side.
So how does one go about getting involved? I've read the AR (350-66?) on it and literally none of my questions were answered (which is a first). Maybe its because im a pog, but this program was never made known to me. The AR talks a lot about how credits are earned but it never really explains the details of the program or how it all works. Anyway, I'd assume you are TDY for competition, correct? Any idea what funds are used? Does anybody have any experience with this at all? |
| Are you active duty? The use of TDY is an active thing so I assume you are. You can contact the AMU at Ft. Benning and they can hook you up with a list of national level matches. What part if CONUS are you stationed in? It's possible to shoot other services matches as long as you stay in regs. |
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Quoted:
I'm specifically interested in how it works on the army's side. Very, very poorly. Bottom line, 90% of active-duty Army personnel have never heard of that reg or the related competitions and 95% have never taken part. Pretty close to 100% of Commanders and their SEAs will laugh at you if you try to have them pay for you to train and/or compete. Marksmanship (and the competition which would drive the motivation and desire for improvement) are neither resourced nor valued. So how does one go about getting involved? I've read the AR (350-66?) on it and literally none of my questions were answered (which is a first). Maybe its because im a pog, but this program was never made known to me. The AR talks a lot about how credits are earned but it never really explains the details of the program or how it all works.
Anyway, I'd assume you are TDY for competition, correct? Any idea what funds are used? Does anybody have any experience with this at all? Read through the USAMU website (http://www.usaac.army.mil/amu/). Per their site, the next opportunity to shoot with them at Benning is the Small Arms Championships in February. The match bulletin explains the match format and will give you a taste of what a properly executed match should look like. Other opportunities can be found with various National Guard MTUs. For travel, yes, TDY would be the the correct answer, but again, I'd challenge you to find a command who would pay for it. Your best bet is to ask nicely for Permissive TDY and pay-as-you-go ... your last option is taking leave. |
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I missed making the AMU unit by one target . I moved my sights the wrong way for the wind during a post sponsored competition on Fort Riley back in the 1980's. Up to that point, I had the highest individual score. We had a unit team that competed in the combat shoot. The team had to run 2 miles wearing full combat gear and carrying everything we were taking to the firing line.
We trained for 2 months by running in full kit for PT every morning. I actually ran 2 miles faster in full kit than I qualified during my APFT. Go figure. I watched one team get disqualified. They made one guy carry all there firing line stuff and he was seconds from the finish line. All he had to do was drop his ruck and sprint. But that would have left the team without ammo, binos, etc. We spread our gear amongst the team and everyone carried their own ammo. |
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Marksmanship (and the competition which would drive the motivation and desire for improvement) are neither resourced nor valued. This. I can't count the number of times I've been told, "there's no mission requirement for that," or "Qualification is enough, we don't have the money for anything else, anyway." If you really want to learn to shoot better, you have to do it on your own time and your own dime. I got into multigun competition and USPSA, and while their courses of fire are not "Army standard," they're an order of magnitude better than anything the Army has to offer as far as realistic combat shooting. I set my TA-50 up after attending several matches, and nothing will teach you what works and what doesn't faster than trying to dig magazines out of a badly set up vest under a time limit. Find a local club or organization and attend a few matches, then see if you can get other Soldiers interested in going. There are clubs and shoots in just about every corner of the country, and most of them are more than happy to see new members and competitors, especially military personnel. The only way to change the sorry state of Army marksmanship is to change the way the Army looks at it, as well as changing the way individual Soldiers perceive it. We have to work to build a culture of marksmanship excellence throughout the Army, an environment where excellence is not only encouraged but expected. Marksmanship is THE defining Soldier skill - ask any civilian, and they will tell you that they automatically assume we know how to shoot better than the average person. Most of them would cringe in horror if they knew the truth. The way forward is to build, slowly, carefully and systematically, into a force where, ideally, every Soldier is at least reasonably familiar with and capable of using their assigned weapon effectively. This should hold true of every Soldier, regardless of MOS, rank or position. For the Big Army to see value in it, it has to produce a measurable effect on readiness or budget or both, and I believe that it can. If an additional ten percent of Soldiers shot Sharpshooter or better first time GO, that would save a ton of money in time and ammo. Part of the problem is that, while there are plenty of Soldiers who enjoy shooting, there are too few of us collaborating toward reasonable short-term goals or getting involved with organizations that can help us. The beauty of this is that it doesn't have to be a top-down driven effort - this is something that any interested Soldier should be able to get involved in and spread the good word about. |
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I shoot with the Navy Marksmanship Team. The Team is made up of Active Duty and Reserve that volunteer. It has an OIC on each coast, has to follow instruction manuals and other military rules, but is all volunteer with no defined funding. My understanding is that the Marine Corps Rifle Detachment and the AMU are the last military units that are actually billeted and funded.
That being said, the first step is to go to a highpower rifle match and a bullseye pistol match. Most of the military shooters also shoot at local clubs and events. You can start networking with people, because this is a pretty small community and people start to know each other. There is a forum under the Training tab at the top that is for Highpower/DCM/CMP, which will get you started. Link You can also check out USNMT.org for the Navy website. Link If your searching really hits some dead ends (or no one picks up the phone), go to the National CMP matches at Camp Perry, OH in July. The AMU guys will be there and you can probably get all the answers you need. (Actually, if you're in Georgia you may want to go to Ft Benning for the Interservice matches first). |