Subscribe
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – U.S. Soldiers picked up foreign weapons, took aim and fired at targets on a range in Afghanistan the evening of June 19 as they attempted to earn the Schützenschnur marksmanship badge.
The German armed forces decoration is one of the few foreign awards U.S. military personnel are authorized to wear on their Army Service Uniform.
Soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division and Regional Command (South) had the opportunity to earn the German Armed Forces Badge for Marksmanship Proficiency during a qualification range at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Patrick Young, a personal security officer with 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, from San Antonio, spends a lot of his personal time at the firing range and said he’s always wanted the chance to earn the badge. When he heard there was an opportunity, he volunteered to arrange the event and make it happen.
“I’ve spent the last month trying to put this all together to come out here to shoot,” he said. “This badge is another tool in the tool box for me. I get to shoot a weapon system that our allies use and if I shoot well enough I get a little extra bling for my Army service uniform.”
To earn the badge and cord, Soldiers were given 16 rounds of ammunition with the German G36 service rifle and five rounds with the P8 pistol. They fired at targets from standing, kneeling, and prone positions and the overall scores were used to determine the kind of medal given to the U.S. Soldiers: gold, silver or bronze.
“You’re firing at some pretty small targets from the standing position, so it can be a little wobbly,” Young said.
Sgt. Beatriz Hendricks, a paralegal with 4th IBCT, 4th Infantry Division, from New York, earned the gold badge. She said the training was not only a great opportunity to become familiar with other weapon systems, but also an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with NATO partners.
“The German soldiers are really friendly and helpful. It was a great opportunity to work with them, see how they train, what their criteria is for their marksmanship badge and how it differs from ours,” Hendricks explained.
Young agreed and said the instructors were very patient with those who were struggling with the weapons.
“They’ve been very gracious to us and they realize this is something that we want to do.”
Later, the German’s will have the opportunity to fire the M-16 rifle and earn the U.S. Marksmanship Badge, Young said.
“It’s a partnership. We jump out of their airplanes and they jump out of ours. We shoot their weapons and they shoot ours,” he said. “We wear each other’s jump wings and marksmanship badges. It’s a pretty cool thing.”
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2014 07:25 |
| Story ID: | 134159 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 885 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 4th Infantry Division and Regional Command (South) Soldiers earn Schützenschnur, by SSG Lyndsey Prax, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
