CAMP PENDLETON, CALIF -- Before aiming for perfection, learning the fundamentals and practice is always neccesary.
Recruits of Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, learned rifle fundamentals during Grass Week at Edson Range, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Nov. 24
The purpose of Grass Week is to teach recruits the basic fundamentals of marksmanship and learn the functions of the rifle such as how to load, unload and fire the M16-A4 service rifle.
“Recruits enter recruit training with little to no knowledge about the service rifle,” said Sgt. Kristopher C. Collis, drill instructor, Platoon 1049. “Grass Week is the first chance they get to become comfortable with the weapon and the positions before they fire it.”
Each platoon within the company was assigned a Primary Marksmanship Instructor and was given classes on proper usage and operation of the weapon before recruits qualify at Edson Range.
Throughout Grass Week, PMIs teach recruits trigger control, sight picture, breathing control, sight alignment and natural point of aim. These basic fundamentals pave the way for recruits to become proficient enough to leave the range as sharpshooters or even experts.
Each platoon had an outdoor classroom and area to practice what they learned. There were four primary positions recruits would shoot in: standing, kneeling, sitting and prone. The instructors gave recruits “snap-in-time” so they could practice the different position and fundamentals they were taught. During “snap-in-time,” recruits aimed in at barrels with targets painted on them simulating the targets at different yard lines.
“A lot goes into shooting the rifle,” said Collis, a native of Detroit. “Breathing techniques, trigger control, and correct body positioning effect the shot. A perfectly aimed shot needs all of the fundamentals executed perfectly.”
Like any machine, there is the possibly that a weapon could malfunction while at the range. To correct those issues, PMIs taught recruits remedial action, which is the method used to get the rifle firing properly.
“Grass week has helped me a lot so far,” said Recruit Chance J. Romero, Platoon 1049. “At first I was unsure what fundamentals were, I have shot guns before but never with the fundamentals that I am learning here.”
With the basic marksmanship fundamentals in hand, recruits of Company C will move on to Firing Week where they will put what they learned to use and qualify with the M16-A4 service rifle.