Marines set sights on 1RAR methods
SOME of the best sharpshooters are training the next generation of US Marines as part of a rare integrated exercise with Townsville soldiers.
The first of 1250 US Marines from Southern California touched down in Darwin in April for a six- month deployment.
More than 200 then travelled to Townsville to train with the Australian Defence Force on the two- week 3rd Brigade certification exercise Brolga Strike, in preparation for Talisman Sabre ( TS17) starting next month.
US Marines with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division are this week working with the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment at the Mount Stuart Training Area as part of a five- day enhanced combat marksmanship program.
The Bulletin was given access to see 15 US shooters being put through their pistol paces under the guidance of 1RAR trainers.
Officer Commanding 3/ 4 Infantry Battalion’s Company L Captain Tom Schueman said the lucky few who were being trained by some of Austra- lia’s best would then go on to train their US colleagues.
“From what I’ve observed, it’s one of the better marksmanship programs out there,” Capt Schueman said.
“The Marine Corps has its version of combat marksmanship, but I don’t think we’re doing it as well as 1RAR.
“So we’re really excited to be doing this program and expect a huge benefit to us . . . and hopefully the program is something we can bring back to the Marine Corps as a whole.”
1RAR combat shooting instructor Corporal James Cunningham said the program was designed to be “an accelerated learning environment” where troops worked one- on- one or in small groups rather than where one person who would yell instructions.
“The best thing is we’re learning a lot as well and they have been very open to our techniques,” Cpl Cunningham said.
“We want to support confidence, develop a base skill set and a combat mindset . . . which they can apply to any environment and, in turn, increase their overall lethality and survivability on the battlefield.”
Capt Schueman said his company had been well received by members of the 3rd Brigade and were loving Townsville, where troops will take recreational leave after TS17.
“We have immersed ourselves with an Australian unit for more than half or our deployment,” he said.
“We have been working, living and training with 1RAR every day, so it’s an incredible experience for us to come down and really become a part of an Australian brigade.
“It’s really given us an opportunity to expand our capabilities.”