Re: “The Marine Corps may soon change how it grades the shooting in its Combat Pistol Program, giving more points to lethal shots and devaluing non-lethal shots, Corps officials said.”

What happens if a Marine fails to meet the stricter accuracy standard?

They get “retrained” until they get it right.

But, hopefully they’ll be smart about it. My partner while I was in had two percent body fat. He was a monster in the gym and was what we call today jacked. He stayed in remedial PT constantly because he never met height/weight standards and was considered “very obese” by the Corps although he had no body fat and his usually PT score was a 300/300.

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Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

What happens if a Marine fails to meet the stricter accuracy standard?

That depends on the unit he’s in, how much time and ammo they have to spare on qualification day, and why he’s trying to qualify in the first place. Officers are required to qualify, and most units I was in required Staff NCOs and sometimes sergeants to qualify in order to stand duty with the pistol. Some NCOs wanted to qualify just to look better for promotion. If qualification was optional they’d get one chance to pass, maybe two, then GTFO if they couldn’t qualify. If failure to qualify with the pistol meant some slacker might be disqualified from the duty roster, I’d keep his ass out there all day until he either qualified or curled up in a ball and asked to be put out of his misery.

Unlike rifle qualification, which is done by Weapons Training Battalion in a formal setting, pistol qualification is done locally and run by the unit’s own personnel.

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Originally posted by jljones:
But, hopefully they’ll be smart about it. My partner while I was in had two percent body fat. He was a monster in the gym and was what we call today jacked. He stayed in remedial PT constantly because he never met height/weight standards and was considered “very obese” by the Corps although he had no body fat and his usually PT score was a 300/300.

Likewise, I worked with a guy was prior Air Force, and was a weightlifter/bodybuilder type. He related the same kind of story, about maxing out his practical PT tests yet failing the Air Force's outdated height/weight charts and "tape tests" due to his overly muscular frame.

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Originally posted by Expert308:

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Originally posted by jljones:

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Originally posted by Sigmund:
Marines can also now rest their rifles on the magazine while qualifying.

The end of days are near………..

I'm not sure that using a 30rd magazine as a rest would really provide much benefit. Better to use a hasty sling and jam an elbow into the ground.

Still prefer the 20rd mags as Stoner intended it to be. Never mind the useless forward assist, AF got it right out of the box.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kobren,

Here’s why shooting ‘expert’ may get harder for Marines

By Hope Hodge Seck
Mar 28, 08:41 AM

As the Marine Corps experiments with different ways of assessing lethality on the rifle range, leaders already are looking ahead to a future in which earning the coveted expert shooting badge is going to take even more skill and precision.

That’s a major takeaway from the fiscal 2024 combat marksmanship symposium, held late 2023 with the service’s top weapons and range experts in attendance...

Complete article:

https://www.marinecorpstimes.c...-harder-for-marines/

The most interesting thing about that article is MantisX. When you hear and see the advertisements, they lead you to believe that the whole Marines Corps uses it, as well as “army Special Forces”. Up till now, I knew of no command within the FMF that was using it. I can tell you that 5th, 19th and 20th groups aren’t using it on the SF side, nor are their respective school houses.

Their advertising is deceptive.

Long ago Ltc Grossman detailed the usual results of a firefight. There are only about 5-15% of shooters who TRY to hit the enemy. (On Killing by Ltc. Grossman - a book ANYONE who carries or has the job of possibly having to stop someone using his weapon must read!). He also details means to overcome these tendencies. One of the primary ones is realistic training. That means no more lying on a nice grassy mound shooting at a round target. Some type of silhouette is mandatory.

The Army went to this kind of training back in the RVN days. The Marine Corps is only now catching up. About time.