Marine Corps Base Hawaii -- Marines with third platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, based out of Okinawa, Japan, participated in field and marksmanship training Jan. 31, 2015 at Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
The purpose of the training was to effectively train the sniper team, refine the Marines’ current skill sets and help familiarize the newer Marines with the rifles.
Cpl. Cody Sperle, also known as “Slow-choke,” serves as the platoon leader of the sniper team with Bravo Co. He said the training was also meant to test the Marines in field craft and spotting, and to help improve their overall marksmanship.
“We started zeroing in with the rifles,” Sperle said. “After we have effectively zeroed in (on the targets), we moved on to short-range accuracy drills, data collection and multiple target engagement. After shooting, the Marines went on to various observation exercises such as working on range estimation, concealment and finding an effective final firing position.”
The training also helps solidify the team’s standard operating procedures, Sperle said.
“I was there to help organize the drills, teach the Marines and pass on knowledge for general marksmanship and field craft,” Sperle said. “I hoped we could get as much trigger-time behind the (rifles) as possible and hoped everyone would be comfortable enough behind the gun to be able to make those long- range shots.”
Sperle also said he hoped the Marines would improve their skills in camouflage, concealmeant and stalking exercises but, regardless, there was no such thing as too much practice.
“It’s important that they get more trigger-time and continuously practice,” Sperle said. “If you don’t shoot very often, you begin to lose the skills you have acquired. However, if you’re able to practice, you’re able to stay fresh and work at everything — that way, when it comes time to be deployed, you’re able to make that shot and get your team in and out alive.”
Sperle said he thinks the Marines can always improve their basic marksmanship skills. He said that, oftentimes, they may start worrying and over-thinking things. When this happens, it’s important to stay calm and apply the fundamentals.
“For a recon Marine, the job of being a scout sniper is a secondary job to their initial purpose, reconnaissance,” said Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Lucky, the platoon sergeant for third plt., Bravo Co., 3rd Recon Bn. “It’s important that the Marines have the time to maintain the skill sets they have acquired in the Scout Sniper Basic Course and be able to pass (those skills) to the Marines in their platoon and unit.”
Lucky said the Marines faced some difficulties on the range, such as stopping for the protected wildlife and dealing with the strong winds, but the Marines did pretty well. He said the key, for them, is the repetition of training — about constantly evaluating their shortfalls and improving on those.
“Deployments and rigorous training are what these Marines signed up for — it’s what they expect,” Lucky said. “When it comes to their job as snipers, it’s necessary to make sure they don’t become stagnant and aren’t just satisfied with what they have done so far. They have to constantly want to improve upon their accomplishments and continue to train other Marines, passing on what they’ve learned.”
Once the Marines become stagnant, think they’ve made it or are good enough, the Marines would no longer want to learn then, closing off their minds to what they can do and improve upon, said Lucky.
“As you become stagnant, others begin to pass you by, the world changes, tactics change and you fall by the wayside,” Lucky said. “You would then, basically, be putting yourself behind the power-curve. It’s important for the Marines to continuously improve and pass on their knowledge, improving the next generation of snipers.”