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34-630: The Marksmanship Medal is awarded for qualifying as an expert marksman on either the SIG Sauer M18 (Navy or Coast Guard), 9×19mm Beretta M9 (Navy or Coast Guard), .40 S&W SIG P229 DAK (Coast Guard only), or M16 rifle . To qualify at the expert level, a superior score must be obtained on an approved weapons qualification course. The standard Navy weapons qualification course for pistol normally consists of several courses of fire from strong-side supported (standing), weak-side supported (standing), and strong-side supported (kneeling) positions. For

68-479: A palace guard, which was an elite group of troops chosen to guard a royal palace or the royalty. This was around the 10th century, although records of some 9th century English Kings show the listings of groups of marksmen specifically chosen for their militaries. In the Australian Army , marksmanship is currently recognized by the award of one of three skill-at-arms badges. The 'Skill at Arms Badge' consists of

102-454: A sniper rifle ) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-usual ranges . The proficiency in precision shooting is known as a shooter's marksmanship , which can be used to describe both gunnery and archery . In common usage, " sharpshooter " and "marksman" are synonymous. Within the specialized fields of shooting sports and military usage, however, sharpshooter and marksman each refer to different levels of skill. Specifically, in

136-548: A duty uniform all successful qualifiers may wear the award as the standard Marksmanship Ribbon . Those qualifying as an expert are authorized to wear the Expert device on the ribbon and those qualifying as a sharpshooter are authorized a "S" device (Navy-bronze and Coast Guard-silver) for that ribbon. The Navy Marksmanship Medals were first issued in 1969. Similarly, the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs awards

170-515: A high level of marksmanship and fieldcraft through grueling selected courses. Candidates must achieve recce qualification and marksman designation before being considered for the basic sniper course. The Indian Army uses a locally manufactured licensed variant of the SVD Dragunov in the Designated Marksman role as part of each infantry platoon . The Dragunov is used in conjunction with

204-642: A laurel wreath and is awarded to the final 20 competitors in the annual Champion Shot for the Army. The winner of this competition is also awarded the Champion Shots Medal . Only one badge may be worn. In the British Armed Forces , "marksman" is traditionally the highest shooting rating and holders may wear a crossed rifles badge on the lower sleeve. In the United States Army and Marine Corps ,

238-526: A representation of crossed .303 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield (SMLE) rifles and is awarded for achieving a prescribed standard of shooting skill. This must be repeated within twelve months for the badge to be awarded in perpetuity to the recipient. The 'Sniper's Badge' is similar in design but incorporates the letter 'S' into the design and is awarded to soldiers who qualify on the Army Sniper's Course. The 'Army Top 20 Badge' consists of crossed .303 SMLE rifles upon

272-609: A ribbon for qualifying at the expert level, although a bronze star can be earned if the wearer qualifies on both of these types of small arms. Within the United States military, a marksman in the U.S. Army is referred to as "Squad Designated Marksman" (SDM), and a marksman in the Marines is called a " Designated Marksman " (DM). The United States Army particularly emphasizes the fireteam concept : according to US Army Field Manual 3-21.8 (Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad, formerly FM 7-8)

306-653: A typical United States Army fireteam consists of four soldiers. In the context of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT)'s Infantry Rifle Companies, one man from each fireteam in a rifle squad is either the Squad Anti-armor Specialist ( RMAT ), armed with the FGM-148 Javelin , or the Squad Designated Marksman (DM), who carries the M4 carbine and M14 rifle . In both cases this specialized function replaces

340-546: Is that marksmen are usually considered an organic part of a fireteam of soldiers and are never expected to operate independently away from the main force, whereas snipers are special ops troops who usually work alone or in very small teams with independent mission objectives. Snipers are also often tasked with responsibilities other than delivering long-range fire – specifically, conducting reconnaissance, battle damage assessment and spotting for coordinates/corrections for artillery fire or air strikes . Within

374-435: Is the practice of assessing damage inflicted on a target from a stand-off weapon , most typically a bomb or air launched missile. It is part of the larger discipline of combat assessment . Assessment is performed using many techniques including footage from in-weapon cameras, gun cameras , forces on the ground near the target, satellite imagery and follow-up visits to the target. Preventing information on battle damage reaching

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408-668: The Alaska Adjutant General's Marksmanship Proficiency Medals , one for rifle and one for pistol, to the top ten guardsman with the highest aggregate scores at the Alaska National Guard Adjutant General's Match. The winners of these awards are selected to join the state's marksmanship team to represent the Alaska National Guard at the Winston P. Wilson Rifle and Pistol Championships for a chance to win

442-508: The Chief's Fifty Marksmanship Badge . A red, white, and blue ribbon is used to represent both medals ( [REDACTED] ); however, the actual rifle and pistol medals suspended by this ribbon are distinct. Marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting . In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or

476-659: The Civilian Marksmanship Program which began just after the turn of the 20th century as a government chartered program and the Division of Civilian Marksmanship. One of the newest and currently the fastest growing marksmanship programs in North America is Project Appleseed which was started by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association in 2006. Shooters who score 210 out of 250 or better on

510-652: The Lockheed U-2 and the Lockheed SR-71 . During the Vietnam War, U.S. special operations and regular ground components often performed on-the-ground BDAs in operational areas where U.S. forces had a presence. BDA may be performed using information released accidentally by the enemy. In World War II, United Press International transmitted a report on the damage caused by the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor including details on

544-539: The "Quick and Dirty" Appleseed AQT earn the Rifleman designation and are issued a Rifleman patch. Similar to the U.S. military marksmanship ratings of Unqualified, Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert (see Marksmanship Badge (United States) ), the Appleseed ratings have the same levels, with the exception that instead of "Expert", the equivalent performance level is called "Rifleman". The National Rifle Association of America

578-527: The INSAS family of weapons to give flexibility and striking power at short to mid range firefights, to Indian Army infantry units engaged with opposing forces. The Army Marksmanship Unit trains members for sports shooting as well as military shooting. The United States has a long tradition of marksmanship going back to its beginnings including the role of common men in its Revolutionary War. There are several organizations which promote civilian marksmanship including

612-564: The US Army, "marksman" is a rating below "sharpshooter" and "expert". Four levels of skill are generally recognized today in American military and civilian shooting circles: unqualified, marksman, sharpshooter, and expert. Marksmanship badges for the three qualified levels are commonly awarded to both civilian and military shooters who attain proficiency in shooting higher than "unqualified". The main difference between military marksmen and snipers

646-598: The basic rifleman position in the fireteam. As with other Commonwealth armies, the Marksman in the Canadian Army is a shooting achievement recognized by a badge bearing the monarch's crown and crossed .303 Lee–Enfield No. 4, Mk I rifles. On operations within the Canadian Infantry Battalion, rifle company designated marksman can be assigned. This is not to be confused with Canadian sniper designation; these attain

680-407: The conflict and retrospectively. In the opening days of the air campaign of the 1991 Gulf War it was used to assess the damage to key Iraqi installations including its nuclear reactors. At the conclusion of the 2003 invasion of Iraq a joint team from the allied nations (including Britain, the United States and Australia) assessed the damage caused to almost 400 sites across the country to determine

714-446: The effectiveness of weapon strikes. As the field has advanced and the quantity of available data has increased, statistical techniques have been introduced to improve the speed and quality of data analysis. The advent of publicly available satellite imagery such as NASA 's FIRMS has allowed also for open-source intelligence to do BDA. Bomb damage assessment has a number of objectives. The assessment will attempt to determine if

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748-406: The enemy is a key objective of military censorship . For nuclear weapons special techniques may be required due to the extensive damage caused and difficulty in approaching the site. Originally, BDA was required due to the disconnected nature of aerial bombardment during World War I . It became necessary to send ground forces to an area to determine whether the damage was effective, or to overfly

782-495: The extent of the damage caused. In particular the analysis did not reliably identify whether a target had been damaged (but remained militarily viable) or was no longer a threat. Information on bomb damage is highly valuable to the enemy and military intelligence and censors will endeavour to conceal, exaggerate or underplay the extent of damage depending on the circumstances. Following the Bluff Cove Air Attacks during

816-412: The future of BDA. Possible future techniques involve using lasers or particle beams in a manner similar to side scan sonar to map, in three dimensions, the condition of a target. Boeing has developed (as of 2002 ) a system whereby a BDA "sensor" is towed a third of a kilometer behind the munition. This system is supposed to be capable of near real-time BDA by directly observing the interaction of

850-573: The marksmanship of the soldiers is ranked based on their skill: marksman-sharpshooter-expert. Holders of each level wear qualification badges below their ribbons with bars for the weapons they qualify in. In the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard , full-sized medals are only issued at the expert level. Both services award separate medals for pistol and rifle proficiency. The United States Air Force gives just

884-468: The military, marksmen are sometimes attached to an infantry fireteam or squad (where they are known as designated marksmen ) where they support the squad by providing accurate long-range shots at valuable targets as needed, thus extending the effective tactical reach of the fireteam or squad. In the Middle Ages , in the first use of the term 'marksman' was given to the royal archers , or bowmen , of

918-404: The munition functioned properly and according to its design. An estimate will be made of the extent of physical damage (through munitions blast, fragmentation , and/or fire damage effects) to the target. This assessment is based upon observed or interpreted damage. Collateral and additional damage is also assessed in this process. Estimates will be made of the degree to which the military value of

952-425: The munition with the target. BDA relies on humans to interpret and analyze the data collected from various sources. Despite improvements in the data capture techniques limitations were exposed following the 1991 Gulf War in the assessment process when the data supplied by on-board cameras was not analysed correctly. This flawed analysis resulted in incorrect or incomplete information being given to local commanders on

986-508: The number of damaged warships and shore installations. In more recent conflicts, special operations forces (SOF) have taken part in BDA, both through physical presence, and conducting overflies with equipment such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV . The Israeli Defense Forces includes two teams dedicated to both target designation and BDA. BDA was used during the two Gulf Wars, both during

1020-536: The rifle, the Navy qualification course consists of firing from a sitting and prone positions. Those qualifying as an expert marksman are authorized to wear the Marksmanship Medal, awarded as two separate decorations for rifle or pistol qualifications. Those having qualified on both pistol and rifle may receive both medals for simultaneous wear. The Marksmanship Medal is worn as a full-sized medal on dress uniforms. On

1054-578: The target again. Either situation was difficult to accomplish safely. Starting with this conflict, specialized equipment has been used specifically for BDA type missions. Originally these were aircraft which were converted fighters or bombers (which in the USAAF were given a new RQ designation). Photographic reconnaissance was used extensively in World War II . From the 1950s onwards satellites became available, as well as high altitude surveillance planes such as

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1088-607: The target has been degraded in respect of its intended mission. Finally the overall impact on the enemy's capability will be assessed. After the end of hostilities in the 1991 Gulf War, the Battle Damage Assessment Working Group (BDAWG) was formed at the behest of MTIC, the Military Targeting Intelligence Committee. Largely, this group sought to create a standard lexicon of terminology for describing BDA, and to develop an outlook for

1122-587: Was 3.781 kilometres (2.35 miles), on March 27, 2021 in Barnard, Kansas by an American competitive shooter. The bullet flew for 9.4 seconds and hit the upper-left corner of a six-foot square (36 square feet) steel target. The rifle used was a GA Precision Custom, with a Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 scope, on a bipod. Ammunition was Hornady .338-caliber 300-grain A-Tip. Battle damage assessment Bomb damage assessment ( BDA ), also known as battle damage assessment ,

1156-495: Was founded in 1871 to improve the marksmanship of American riflemen. Despite it being known contemporarily as a political advocacy organization for gun rights, the NRA continues to host marksmanship competitions and gun sports in the United States. A different organization, USA Shooting , organizes American shooting sports at the Olympic level. The longest recorded shot in a shooting contest

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