US Army soldiers undergo new marksmanship test

Soldiers from the Wyoming Army National Guard's C Company,1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment (Forward) were the first to try out thenew test at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center as part of pre-deploymenttraining that will require them to conduct the proposed analysis two more timesthis year.

The new marksmanship test has been undergoing evaluationsand changes for about two years, primarily by the active duty's airborneinfantry units, and is slated to become the U.S. Army-wide standard for riflemarksmanship qualification in the fiscal year 2020.

"It's a lot more functional and realistic, integratingmore of a rifleman's tasks," said Staff Sgt. Zach Semmons, a squad leaderwith 1/297th. "You have to maintain situational awareness, keep a roundcount and execute combat magazine changes, all while engaging thetargets."

According to an Army Times article from Jan. 17, 2018, Brig.Gen. Christopher Donahue, commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School, said theproposed changes are all aimed at increasing soldier lethality and presenting amore realistic shooting environment based on what the Army has seen in 16 yearsof combat.

As it sits now, the new weapons qualification will featurefour shooting positions –prone unsupported, prone supported, kneelingsupported, and standing supported. Soldiers are issued four 10-round magazines,to engage 40 pop-up targets from the four shooting positions. Some iterationswill show three or four targets at a time, forcing soldiers to be extremelyfocused.

Sgt. Sol Griffith, a fire team leader with the Afton-basedinfantry company, said the unit will conduct the qualification with its parentunit in Alaska soon, and again during mobilization training at Fort Bliss,before deploying overseas this year.

During the training day on 7 March 2019, Griffithdemonstrated the test for his comrades before they conducted the currentqualification for their annual records. When they concluded that test, the restof the unit tried out the future test.

"Now you have three or four targets up at the sametime, and you have to transition between them very thoughtfully," saidGriffith. "It's not like it was with someone yelling what target is comingup. Plus, the tower doesn't tell you when to do a (magazine) change. You haveto know when to do it, and then, do it."

The new standard is going to be difficult for a lot ofshooters, even those who hold the rifleman occupational specialty. Forinstance, the range noncommissioned officer in charge announced from thetower's public address system that Griffith hit 22 of the 40 targets during thedemonstration. "Sgt. Griffith usually hits 40 out of 40," the towerannouncer added.

As for the rest of the unit, Semmons said about half the soldiersmet the minimum qualifying standard of 23 hits, and a 32 was the high score ofthe practice round.