CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Marines and Sailors with Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, conducted a crew-served weapons range on Camp Hansen, April 21, delivering concentrated live-fire training with multiple weapon systems to reinforce unit-level proficiency and interoperability.
The day’s events focused on machine-gun gunnery, weapons employment and weapons handling, including range lanes for sustained and traversing fire, immediate-action drills, ammunition handling, and rapid emplacement and displacement. Weapons employed on the range included the M240 Bravo, the M249 SAW and the M1014 Benelli shotgun.
“We’re aboard Camp Hansen, and today we ran a crew‑served weapons range with shotguns,” said 1st Lt. Brandon Maravi, ground supply officer, CLR‑35. “We worked on machine‑gun gunnery, weapons employment and weapons handling.”
Instructors advanced live‑fire sequences from controlled aimed fire to sustained‑fire drills, assessing gun crews on firing positions, coordination, fire discipline and immediate corrective actions. Range safety briefings and supervised evolutions emphasized safe weapons handling and combat‑relevant procedures under simulated operational stress.
“As Marines, we’re always first to the fight,” Maravi said. “Even though we go through different military occupational specialties, every Marine must retain basic rifleman skills — weapons handling and employment. We also had Sailors train alongside Marines today, shooting and operating together.”
The range was the culminating event after two to three weeks of preparatory training. “Both platoons, along with the sailors and Marines here, trained hard on weapons employment and shotgun handling,” Maravi said. “They performed exceptionally well today — I couldn’t be prouder as the officer in charge of this range.”
Documentation and after‑action assessments from the range will inform follow‑on training and identify areas for refinement in gunnery techniques, logistics support and crew coordination. By routinely integrating crew‑served weapon proficiency and cross‑MOS participation, CLR‑35 sustains the collective skills necessary to support III Marine Expeditionary Force operations across the region.