11-01-2011, 10:03 PM
How is that possible? Put people in charge of the range who use it as an opportunity to belittle soldiers, yell at them, criticize them, shove steel cleaning rods down the barrels from the muzzle end to "rod them onto the range", then condescend to the shooters, when half of them can't even shoot Expert themselves. Sorry, I was just having 82nd flashbacks...If leaders would just follow the regulations, crack open FM3-22.9 and read about peer coaching, Training the Trainer, wind reading, diagnosing groups, advanced rifle marksmanship ranges, etc., it would be a different story maybe.
Often you have a mass range that is more of an exercise in getting as many soldiers qualified, versus assessing and enhancing the unit's marksmanship capabilities or proficiency. Any range larger than a platoon-size will usually be a waste of time, unless you are already a good shooter and can repeatedly qualify Expert without help. The rest of the clan get rammed through, with little to no coaching, mentoring, diagnosing, or continual education, because the leadership climate is about stats, and much of the junior NCO corps has not been trained in how to properly conduct quality marksmanship instruction.
The most instructive and beneficial marksmanship exercises I have ever experienced were at the platoon-level or smaller. Company-sized ranges should be banned.
Often you have a mass range that is more of an exercise in getting as many soldiers qualified, versus assessing and enhancing the unit's marksmanship capabilities or proficiency. Any range larger than a platoon-size will usually be a waste of time, unless you are already a good shooter and can repeatedly qualify Expert without help. The rest of the clan get rammed through, with little to no coaching, mentoring, diagnosing, or continual education, because the leadership climate is about stats, and much of the junior NCO corps has not been trained in how to properly conduct quality marksmanship instruction.
The most instructive and beneficial marksmanship exercises I have ever experienced were at the platoon-level or smaller. Company-sized ranges should be banned.