Ditch the Track, Grab your Rifle: Marines with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion shoot “modified” table four

Photo By Sgt. Justin Updegraff | Marines with Charlie Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, shoot at pop-up targets during a course of fire aboard Fort A.P. Hill, Va., Sept. 2, 2014. The Marines spent the entire day shooting an unknown distance range with the M4 Carbine and the M249 squad automatic weapon to better themselves at estimating distances and eliminating a target. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Justin Updegraff / Released)  

FORT A.P. HILL, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

09.23.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Justin Updegraff 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

FORT A.P. HILL, Va. - Marines with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division completed a live-fire exercise at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, Sept. 2.

The weapons training exercise provided Marines the opportunity to perform fundamental marksmanship training with the M4 service rifle and the M249 squad automatic weapon. The goal of the weapons training was to sustain the “every Marine is a rifleman” mindset and to keep the Marines familiar with firing their weapons at targets from an unknown distance.

During the live-fire exercise, Marines fired 30 rounds of ammunition to battlesight zero their individual weapons. A battlesight zero is the sight settings placed on a service rifle for combat and allows Marines to engage an enemy threat without adjusting the elevation of their weapon.

Unlike most shooting ranges the Marine Corps uses, the range at A.P. Hill had mechanized pop-up targets that gave instant feedback to the Marines.

“[This range] is more realistic than any range that we normally do,” said Cpl. Zachary Zoerman, an assault amphibious vehicle crewman with Charlie Company, 2nd AABn. “The targets actually move, and they respond when you hit them. This helps us because we know exactly when we hit the target.”

Over two weeks, the unit conducted a battalion-level field exercise. The marksmanship training was part of the battalion’s training and readiness standards. During the field exercise, the battalion also evaluated its Marines on platoon level gunnery techniques and procedures, strategic mobility exercise procedures, and basic combat skills.

• Date Taken: 09.23.2014
• Date Posted: 09.23.2014 10:07
• Story ID: 142995
• Location: FORT A.P. HILL, VIRGINIA, US