The Ever-Changing United States Marine Corps Rifle Qualification

The qualification process at the rifle range has come under great scrutiny over the past several years, especially in light of requirements associated with the current operating environment. Many believe that the rifle range has been an ineffective training ground for Marines who will deploy to places like Iraq or Afghanistan, where every Marine, regardless of military occupational specialty MOS, may see combat. Therefore, the rifle qualification course has been changed to adapt to the current operating environment. However, this was never the purpose of the rifle range, nor should it be. The qualification process at the rifle range should focus on teaching, reinforcing, and testing the fundamentals of marksmanship, while training Marines in combat shooting should be the responsibility of each individual unit.