KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany - Twelve soldiers from the 266th Financial Management Support Center recently traveled to Hessich-Lictenau in northern Hessen, Germany to participate in a "Schützenshnur" qualification range alongside German Bundeswehr partners.
The Schützenshnur, or German Armed Forces marksmanship badge, is a German military decoration awarded in bronze, silver or gold for shooting proficiency.
In order to qualify for the badge, contestants must earn passing marks for each weapon in two different firing tables consisting of varying distances and shooting positions. They must shoot and qualify with the P-8 pistol, the G-36 rifle, and the MG-3 machine gun.
The day began with an introduction to the German weapon systems.
"I had a great experience at the German range," Spc. Joshua Babicz, a disbursing technician with the 266th FMSC, said of the experience. "When it came time to train on the weapon systems, the German instructors had a plan and executed accordingly. Their plan was very similar to how we operate, such as our crawl, walk, and run phase."
"First, they had us observe as they lectured and provided a hands-on display," he continued. "Then they had us physically operate their weapons, moving through the steps such as loading the magazine, trigger squeeze and sight picture."
"The instructors were very knowledgeable on their specific weapon systems and provided an outstanding training experience," added Babicz.
After the introduction, the 266th FMSC soldiers immediately proceeded to the MG-3 machine gun lane, where they had to accurately shoot several half-dollar sized targets from a distance of 25 meters.
The MG-3's high rate of fire was an initial surprise to the Soldiers. However, through the coaching of the German instructors, the team was able to navigate through this challenging stage.
Next, they moved on to the P-8 pistol range, where each soldier had to successfully engage several stationary and pop-up targets.
After completing the pistol portion, the team's marksmanship skills were again rigorously tested at the final stage of the day, the G-36 rifle range. Each team member was required to successfully engage several targets from distances up to 200 meters.
The 266th FMSC soldiers emphasized that the entire event was a great team building exercise between the partner militaries and reinforced their basic soldiering skills.
Maj. d.R. Chriatian Grötsch and Oberleutnant d.R. Markus Müller of the Bundeswehr agreed.
"This was another highly successful event in which American and German soldiers shared experiences and worked together very successfully," said Grötsch.
Spc. Matthew Didier, an accounting specialist with the 266th FMSC, also weighed in on the experience.
"Even though we live and work in Germany, we don't interact with the German military very often," said Didier. "It was great to meet German soldiers and to participate in some of their training. I highly recommend that all soldiers take advantage of this event if given the opportunity."
Leaders of the 266th FMSC said they will build on this "great" relationship by incorporating Bundeswehr soldiers into some of their future ranges and training events.
By the end of the day, six out of the 12 soldiers participating in the event had achieved the Schützenshnur along with the ability to wear the German award on their uniforms.
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