Marine Corps Marksmanship Training - Upcoming Changes

1. THE CG TECOM HOSTED A MARKSMANSHIP SUMMIT AT QUANTICO IN 
NOVEMBER 2002. THE ATTENDEES, WHICH REPRESENTED ALL MARFORS, MEFS, 
BASES AND STATIONS,FOCUSED ON OBTAINING A MARINE CORPS-WIDE 
CONSENSUS ON THE MOST PRESSING AND PERTINENT MARKSMANSHIP ISSUES.
ALL TOPICS DISCUSSED AND RECOMMENDATIONS PRODUCED REFLECT EFFORTS 
TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING,
MAKE IT MORE EXECUTABLE, AND IMPROVE OUR MARKSMANSHIP
COACHING.
2. THE SUMMIT RESULTS WERE PRESENTED TO THE CMC FOR APPROVAL AT
APRIL 2003 EXECUTIVE OFF-SITE (EOS). THE DECISIONS OF THE 
EOS WILL HAVE WIDE REACHING EFFECTS ON ANNUAL MARKSMANSHIP
TRAINING CORPS-WIDE, AND WILL BE FORMALIZED THROUGH A REVISION
OF MCO 3574.2_. THIS MESSAGE CONSTITUTES A WARNING ORDER TO
INFORM ALL UNITS OF THESE FORTHCOMING CHANGES AND TO ALLOW RANGES
TO PLAN FOR CHANGES IN SCHEDULES AND PREPARE FOR DIFFERENT 
INSTRUCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.
3. THERE ARE NO PLANNED CHANGES TO ENTRY LEVEL MARKSMANSHIP 
TRAINING. THE CONDUCT AND EXECUTION OF MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING AT 
THAT LEVEL HAS REMAINED CONSTANT AND EXCEPTIONAL FOR DECADES, AND 
THE SUMMIT VALIDATED THE MERITS OF THE EXISTING PROGRAM.
4. SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR CHANGES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
A. THE KD REQUAL WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE SLR COURSE OF FIRE. IT 
WILL HOWEVER, BE RESTRUCTURED TO FIT INTO ONE CALENDAR WEEK, 
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. PREPARATORY MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING WILL BE 
CONDUCTED ON THE RANGE AND IS A RANGE RESPONSIBILITY.
B. PHASE III FIELD FIRING WILL BE DECOUPLED FROM PHASES I AND II
THEREBY SEPARATING THOSE ITS'S FROM THE FIRING OF ANNUAL 
REQUALIFICATION. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SCHEDULING AND
EXECUTION OF ALL PHASE III ITS'S WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE
UNIT COMMANDER AND PHASE III TRAINING WILL BE DEVELOPED AS A 
STAND-ALONE PROGRAM, MADE AVAILABLE ON AN AS-REQUESTED BASIS.
COMPLIANCE WILL BE MONITORED THROUGH CGVP AND IGMC PROGRAMS.
COMPLETION OF PHASE III TRAINING WILL BE A KEY ELEMENT CONSIDERED
WHEN DETERMINING UNIT READINESS. 
C. CREATION OF A NEW MOS, 8529, BASIC KD COACH. THE 8529 
TRAINING WILL BE STANDARDIZED AND IS ENVISIONED AS A FIVE DAY 
TRAINING COURSE THAT WILL CERTIFY MARINES TO FUNCTION AS A KD RIFLE 
OR PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP (PM) COACH. THIS SHORTER, MORE REFINED
TRAINING WILL RESULT IN AN INCREASED NUMBER OF COACHES TO SUPPORT 
UNITS ANNUAL REQUALIFICATION FIRING. THE COACHES COURSE POI WILL 
BE DISTRIBUTED AND EFFECTIVE FOR USE ON 1 OCT 03. 
D. CREATION OF A MORE PROGRESSIVE MARKSMANSHIP COACH TRAINING 
PIPELINE AND STRUCTURE. THE NEW MOS, 8529, BASIC KD COACH, WILL
BE CREATED, FOLLOWED BY THE CURRENT MOS'S 8530, 8531, AND 8532. 
8529 WILL FORM THE FOUNDATION OF ALL MARKSMANSHIP COACHING. 
TRAINING FOR SUBSEQUENT MOS'S WILL BE PROGRESSIVE WITH EACH MOS
SERVING AS THE PREREQUISITE FOR THE NEXT. 
E. THE PROPOSED PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP PROGRAM (PMP) WILL NOT BE 
IMPLEMENTED. THE CURRENT PISTOL PROGRAM IS CONSIDERED ADEQUATE 
AND WILL CONTINUE. A REVIEW OF THIS CURRENT PROGRAM WILL BE
CONDUCTED WITH THE INTENT OF ADDING SOME FIRING FROM THE HOLSTER
INTO THE EXISTING COURSE OF FIRE. 
F. THE FORTHCOMING REVISED ORDER WILL CONTAIN POLICY
GUIDANCE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF EXEMPTIONS. ALL MARINES
WHO HAVE ACCESS TO WEAPONS AND RANGES BY TABLE OF EQUIPMENT OR A
MUTUAL SUPPORT AGREEMENT WILL BE REQUIRED TO QUALIFY AND COMPLETE
ALL MARKSMANSHIP ITS'S ANNUALLY. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE 
AS MANY MARINES AS POSSIBLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAINTAIN THEIR 
MARKSMANSHIP PROFICENCY. 
5. THESE CHANGES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVE 1 OCTOBER 2003. 
SPECIFIC GUIDANCE WILL BE FORTHCOMING IN THE FORM OF A REVISED 
MCO 3574.2_.