FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 18, 2015) -- After four weeks of marksmanship instruction, Master Marksmanship Training Course students enter the fifth and final week.
Level IV is known as master trainer, and focuses on the students' ability to apply what they have learned during the previous four weeks to future training at their unit.
"Level IV teaches Soldiers how to utilize their unit training management, which is going to give them the ability to go back to their unit and assist their commanders in planning and executing training," said Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Rose, team chief for the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit's instructor training group. "For the commanders back at the units, when they get a Level IV-certified Soldier back, they're getting a subject matter expert that can ... sit down and show them how marksmanship can be implemented throughout the year and not just during range-density weeks."
During Level IV, students receive additional instruction on topics such as advanced wind reading, competition, range packets and doctrine.
The culminating exercise of Level IV splits students into small groups of five to six Soldiers and requires them to prepare a brief on a proposed plan for marksmanship training. That brief is presented to MMTC instructors, who question the students on how doctrine was applied to the plan.
"During each level, they're required to not only show their marksmanship proficiency at a high level, but also required to articulate and show how they would run these different levels back at their units," Rose said. "We're looking for Soldiers to comprehend the doctrine they're using. They not only need to be able to understand it, but articulate it to a commander."
Once Soldiers graduate from MMTC, they are expected to return to their units with the ability to immediately begin to improve marksmanship training.
"Once these Soldiers are trained, they can go back to their units and propagate the methodology we're using here to the rest of the Army," Rose said. "The idea is that one Soldier can leave here, teach four more Soldiers and each of those teach another four. That way, we can eventually spread this Armywide."
Staff Sgt. Brian Schacht, assistant team chief for USAMU's instructor training group, said the course will eventually lead to widespread change in the way marksmanship is taught.
"We are seeing a fundamental change in the marksmanship culture," he said. "We are breaking down barriers every day and arming NCOs with the ability to go back out there and train to the standards. I suspect in a year or two, we'll have a whole change in the way we conduct marksmanship and training."
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