FORT BENNING, Ga., (Jan. 27 2016) -- The Army Marksmanship Unit and the Maneuver Captains Career Course are combining efforts to change the culture of marksmanship across the Army through classroom instruction and live fire training.
This partnership aims to improve the lethality of the Army by introducing the students to the Master Marksmanship Trainer Course and conducting a known distance live fire.
Students from MCCC, a 22-week course that focuses on mastering the fundamentals of combined arms warfighting at the tactical level, conducted a known distance live fire qualification and received valuable classroom instruction from the Army Marksmanship Unit. The training took place at Finals Hall and on McAndrews Range Jan. 19-21 to demonstrate AMU's capabilities and introduce future company commanders to the Master Marksmanship Trainer Course. Over 100 students, consisting of both Army and Marine captains, participated in the training.
The purpose of the training is three fold: understanding and improving the culture of marksmanship, developing future company commanders in the area of unit training management and to improve lethality, according to Capt. Mike Hefti, Team 3 small group leader.
"MCCC and AMU are working together to ensure leaders understand that the culture of marksmanship training has changed," Hefti said. "We want future commanders to see what right looks like, prepare them for smart unit training management and also to improve their individual lethality."
A foundation in training management is presented to students attending MCCC, according to the course outline. The AMU introduction to the MMTC brief is one way that training management is incorporated into the course.
"We need our leaders to grasp that there are smarter ways to train. Just because we always trained with a certain method, does not make the method correct. The smarter we train, the more lethal our Soldiers will be," Hefti said.
The learning environment and instruction provided by AMU allowed students to learn and hone their skills.
"We enjoyed the slow paced and relaxed learning environment," said Capt. Dave Murray, one of the Marine students. "We liked being able to shoot and get immediate feedback from both the target and the instructor, which helped us diagnose problems in our shooting methods and correct it. This helps us master the fundamentals before putting body armor on, ensuring we do not carry over bad habits."
"The instructors gave us ample time to re-learn the fundamentals of a good shooting position and trigger control," said Capt. Kevin Williams, a student from Seminar 2.
For AMU, this is a chance to influence marksmanship across the Army and showcase the Master Marksmanship Trainer Course, said Sgt. 1st Class Ian Hunter.
"This has provided us with the opportunity to impart the significance and promote the reliance of an MMTC graduate on our future company commanders. I enjoy knowing that a single captain in command has the potential of influencing up to 120 Soldiers and with the current MCCC program it is possible to influence over 60,000 Soldiers a year. Having this relationship with our future company commanders will have a considerable effect on the culture of marksmanship and the way we conduct training."
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