Combat Shooting Team’s mettle tested at AASAM

Photo By Cpl. Mark Stroud | Lance Cpl. Pete Shea, rifleman, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, attempts a new firing position here May 9 during the 2011 Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting. Shea said he learned the position while watching other nations compete. AASAM is an annual, international combat-marksmanship competition hosted by the Australian Army which took place May 9-19.  

OKINAWA, JAPAN

05.20.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Mark Stroud 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

A team of Marines traveled here to compete in the 2011 Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting, an annual, international combat marksmanship competition hosted by the Australian Army from May 9-19.

The U.S. Marine team, comprised of Marines from units based in Virginia, Okinawa and Hawaii, competes internationally to display Marine Corps marksmanship and enhance partnerships with participating nations, according to Lt. Col. Mark D. Mackey, officer-in-charge, Marine Shooting Detachment, AASAM.

Shooting teams from 13 nations arrived for the annual shooting competition to test their abilities in combat marksmanship, utilizing the standard-issue small arms of their infantry units to compete in more than 100 events, including rifle, pistol and light machine gun competitions.

The international gathering of marksmanship experts provided a forum for the discussion of training techniques and shooting fundamentals.

“I hope to build rapport with the different countries that are participating and add to our own skill set,” said Sgt. Brandan Jansen, a competitor with the U.S. Marine team. “We can bring back the different skills and techniques that we learned here from watching the other nations compete and working with them on the firing line.”

The members of the team are in a good position to share the knowledge they gained during the competition with their fellow Marines, according to Sgt. Vincent Bender, a competitor with the U.S. Marine team.

“We are trying to bring new training techniques and ideas to different units in the fleet, allowing them to build a good training foundation for their Marines and build upon the Marine Corps’ reputation as marksmen,” said Bender. “We’ve already been exposed to a lot of new shooting positions and courses of fire that are going to help us accomplish that goal.”

After witnessing the competition, the Marines have already started to form ideas of what they want to bring back to their units and incorporate in their training plans.

“They added several dimensions to the courses of fire that could go a long way towards making the weapons training more engaging for Marines and more practical at the same time,” said Sgt. Will Hiett, a competitor with the U.S. Marine team. “Some of the courses of fire here included physical fitness strain and obstacles that bring some of the stresses of combat to the training, and they managed to do it safely.”

The competitors provided a varied pool of expertise from which the Marines could draw.

“Some of these teams do nothing but shoot and train to shoot year-round, so the level of competition has been pretty high. There are also a fair amount of infantry (Marines) here that have brought a different kind of expertise to the table,” said Sgt. Joshua Martin, a competitor with the U.S. Marine team. “Everyone has been nothing but helpful though; they all want to talk tactics and share as much information as possible, and learn what we are doing on our side, so they can bring it back to their countries.”

Aside from learning new training techniques and building relationships with the different militaries assembled here, the Marines hope to do one more thing: proudly represent the Marine Corps’ heritage as an institution dedicated to the fundamentals of marksmanship, according to Sgt. Matthew Gullette, a competitor with the U.S. Marine team.

“I think we all want to come out here and win some of these events and live up to our reputation as riflemen,” said Gullette. “The fact that we are over here shows how dedicated the Corps is to representing our heritage and even building onto it -- bringing back what we learned here and coming back stronger next year.”

For additional photos, visit www.flickr.com/3mefpao.

• Date Taken: 05.20.2011
• Date Posted: 05.19.2011 20:29
• Story ID: 70715
• Location: OKINAWA, JP