2/2 G. Co. team leaders learn the right weapon for the right job

Photo By Sgt. Michelle Reif | Staff Sgt. James M. Finney, a platoon sergeant for 2nd Platoon, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, teaches company fire team leaders about the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle during a training retreat on range L-5 aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., July 22, 2015. The two-day training event took place to ensure the company’s fire team leaders were up-to-date on their weapons handling skills and could take their knowledge of weapons and leadership principles back to their squad members. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Michelle Reif/Released)  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

07.22.2015

Story by Cpl. Michelle Reif 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marine Corps standards are constantly evolving and expanding. Uniform regulations change, fitness tests evolve, and weapons systems improve. All of these changes ensure that the Marine Corps is the most effective fighting force on earth, ready to take the fight to the enemy at a moment’s notice. In order to keep up with these advances, Marines must constantly train to ensure they remain technically proficient with the latest gear and technologies.

The fire team leaders of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, spent quality training time enhancing their weapons handling skills on range L-5 aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, July 22-23, ensuring they were prepared to teach what they learned to their fellow squad members.

The company’s platoon sergeants who attended the training all agreed; a fire team leader holds some of the biggest responsibility in the Marine Corps. Not only must fire team leaders be proficient enough on the weapons system to teach their squads, they must know the capabilities and limitations of every squad member in order to employ them efficiently, they explained. Also, being a leader of your peers can be an extremely daunting task and the squad’s performance ends up being a direct representation of their team leader.

With those high expectations in mind, the team leaders took part in the training retreat not only to learn about weapons, but to refine and expand their leadership skills as well. They unofficially named the event “Training for War.”

“Knowledge is power,” said Staff Sgt. James M. Finney, the platoon sergeant for 2nd platoon, “the more you learn here, the better armed you will be.”

The team leaders improved their knowledge of the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, the Mk32 Grenade Launcher and the M240B Machine Gun. Not only did they advance their firing skills, they learned a bit of history behind each one, how to handle a malfunction, and how to properly care for and clean each system.

However, for the fire team leaders, it is not enough to simply know how the weapon works. They also apply a strategy through the combination of weapons employed when faced with an enemy.

“Weaponeering is knowing the right weapon to use for the right job,” explained Finney. “It’s about knowing the capabilities and limitation of each Marine and weapon and knowing which targets take precedence.”

This idea ties into the important Marine Corps leadership principle, “employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities.”

Finney also took the training event as an opportunity to mentor his Marines about the importance of readiness. Missions are constantly changing, he told them, and they need to have the tools to be prepared for anything.

“The purpose of the Marine Corps is to be a force in readiness when the nation is least ready,” said Finney. “The other guys are out there training so you can be sure that we are too.”

• Date Taken: 07.22.2015
• Date Posted: 07.23.2015 15:38
• Story ID: 170916
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US