Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Julius Clayton | FORT KNOX, Ky. -- Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Toepfer, U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit...... read more read more
By Sgt. 1st Class Julius Clayton
USMAU PAO
Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) trained more than 50 noncommissioned officers assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, May 1-19, on how to conduct basic rifle marksmanship courses for Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) cadets, in preparation for the upcoming Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The train-the-trainer instruction was a precursor to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Soldiers’ return to Fort Knox over the summer months to coach cadets. The training focused on Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction (PMI), according to Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Baeza, Noncommissioned Officer in charge (NCOIC) of Cadet Command’s Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) Committee, 3rd Cavalry Regiment. Soldiers were tested on their ability to understand the curriculum and to articulate what they learned to USAMU instructors.
“Coming to a training event like this lets you know that there is still plenty to learn about marksmanship and how to shoot properly and effectively. Sometimes it can be humbling, but it’s good and makes us better practitioners of our craft,” said Baeza.
“We will be teaching the cadets primary marksmanship instruction this summer and once we are finished with the Cadet Command training, we will of course go back to our home unit and impart the knowledge we have gained from the USAMU onto our Soldiers,” the NCOIC added.
“This is the first year that USAMU led the annual program of instruction,” said Sgt.1st Class Walter Craig, Instructor Training Group (ITG) Assistant Team Chief.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Toepfer, a member of the USAMU ITG said: “We are here to teach these Soldiers and NCOs basic rifle marksmanship to help them become more proficient instructors to the nearly 13,000 cadets attending Cadet Command’s annual summer training camp.
“The first week entailed basic fundamental marksmanship, zeroing weapons, grouping shots and proper positioning,” Toepfer said. “The second week we incorporate record qualification, shooting longer distances and having them teach classes to their peers. The final week will have them taking over the training completely and giving us a week of how they will train the cadets this summer from start to finish.”
Marksmanship, or “skill at arms,” according to Toepfer, is the foundation for shooting and covers all of the steps leading up to pulling the trigger, including aiming, body position, loading and reacting to a stoppage.
“Our goal is to hopefully standardize marksmanship training for those that are here, so that they can impart this knowledge to the cadets coming to camp this summer, as well as taking it back to their home stations,” said Toepfer.
One of USAMU’s core missions is to promote a higher proficiency and understanding of marksmanship in order to improve shooting standards, combat effectiveness and lethality.
“If we can properly train Soldiers in a standard fundamental marksmanship program, and they can understand the basics of marksmanship from early on in their careers, it will instill confidence in Soldiers in their weapons system, how to use them properly and thus create a more lethal force on the battlefield,” said Toepfer.
Toepfer added, “A lot of the Soldiers have commented that this is the best block of marksmanship training they have received since basic training.”
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The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) wins national and international shooting competitions, supports Army marketing engagements, and advances small arms lethality to demonstrate Army marksmanship capability, connect America to its Army and enhance marksmanship effectiveness in combat. USAMU is part of the U.S. Army Marketing Engagement Brigade and Army Marketing and Research Group.
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2017 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 235036 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Hometown: | FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | FORT MOORE, GA, US |
| Hometown: | ODESSA, TX, US |
| Hometown: | ORANGE, CA, US |
| Hometown: | PRICE, UT, US |
| Hometown: | ROCK HILL, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 122 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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