FORT BENNING, Ga., (Feb. 10, 2016) -- A class of 45 students of the Armor Basic Officer Leader Course trained on marksmanship Feb. 3-5 at Roosevelt Range, Simpson Range and Porter Range.
"At the most basic level, every Soldier is a rifle marksman first," said 2nd Lt. Kenneth Pizarro, ABOLC student.
More than rifle marksmanship, however, Capt. Alfred Dixon, A Troop commander, 2nd Battalion, 16th Cavalry Regiment, said the marksmanship event with officers of ABOLC and NCOs who train them is about building relationships between officers and Soldiers in the force.
"Everything we do is a learning opportunity," Dixon said.
Through the training, Dixon said the NCO is training their future leader and that training events such as these are about building that connection.
"It's about forging that trust that builds that smart, fast, lethal and precise Soldiers," Dixon said.
The 2nd Bn., 16th Cav. Regt., cadre went through the Master Marksmanship Trainer Course to be able to then train the ABOLC students on how to best use their basic weapon systems - the M4 rifle and the Beretta M9 pistol.
The first day of basic rifle marksmanship required students to zero their M4 rifle at 25 meters and qualify from 25-300 meters.
The following day on Porter Range, the second lieutenants were introduced to handgrips and stances, and they qualified using the Beretta M9.
On day three, Soldiers engaged targets at distances up to 200 meters and were introduced to the robotic human type targets during squad live fire and learned ways to adjust aim to compensate for moving targets.
2nd Lt. Joshua McRoberts, ABOLC student and Soldier with the Idaho National Guard, said he had been in the Army more than five years and never had the opportunity to shoot at moving targets.
"It's the closest thing we actually can get to firing against what would be another combatant," McRoberts said. "We're never going to shoot at anything stationary (in combat), so it is exciting to have this new obstacle to overcome."
For 2nd Lt. Colby Andrews, with the Florida National Guard, the excitement was in the level of proficiency he was going to gain from the program.
"As leaders, we have to be proficient so we can instruct others on how to do it," he said.
Staff Sgt. Howard Stricklin, senior instructor, said the purpose of the marksmanship program was to increase lethality throughout the Army, one officer at a time.
"To enhance the ability of the craft that every (Soldier) has to know in a way that is beyond what I would ever do gives me confidence in myself and in my battle buddy to the left and right of me," Pizarro said.
Stricklin said the Army is raising marksmanship to a new level.
"As the years unfolded throughout war, all of the other armies have caught up and leveled the playing field," Stricklin said. "Our Army is trying to raise the bar and make more lethal shooters out there."
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