MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. - Planted feet and a confident gaze steadied Sgt. Jon Mozingo as he fired 10 rounds into a nearby target at a rifle range aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico during a Foreign Weapons Course on May 16, 2013.
The class of more than 20 students was taught by Mozingo and Sgt. Ryan Purchase, both foreign weapons instructors.
“The students will fire nine weapons during this course,” said Purchase, “including the AK-47, Dragunov Sniper Rifle, PKM, Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova, Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique Leger, Heckler & Koch G3, Thompson Submachine Gun, Heckler & Koch MP5 and Colt M1911.”
The Foreign Weapons Course, run by the Weapons Training Battalion, is designed to equip students to instruct other Marines and foreign military members in foreign weapons.
During the 10-day course, through classroom instruction and range time, students learn the histories, nomenclatures, cleaning procedures and effective teaching techniques of various weapons in addition to firing them.
“The G3 was replaced by the G36,” said Purchase. Germans we have talked to prefer the G 3 though, he said.
Students come from all over the world. The 30 members of this class include Seal Team 8, two air marshals, and Marines from North Carolina to Hawaii.
I wanted to try the weapons systems, said Staff Sgt. Chris Latham stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. “I wanted to see if the weapons live up to their reputations, and my expectations have been fulfilled.”
Marine Corps instructors test the student’s knowledge of the covered material through review tests at the beginning of the day and practical application at the rifle range.
Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil