<span style="font-weight: bold">Plucked off another site, After-Action Review by TBJMedic, an ROTC Cadet from North Georgia Military College:</span>
"The "All Army" competition is hosted every year at Ft. Benning, GA. This year it was from 19-26 March. There were 301 competitors making this the largest All Army in 18 years.
(My apologies if this is in the wrong place)
I am listing this here because more than just being a competition it is a fantastic training opportunity. The Army Marksmanship Unit goes to great lengths to give professional blocks of instruction before each phase of competition. The majority of this training was held in a "train the trainer" format with the expectation that soldiers participating would bring the lessons they learned back to their units and integrate them into their marksmanship training.
Hosted by the AMU All Army is the largest Army sponsored marksmanship competition. It consists of competitive courses of fire with the M16a2/M4, and the M9 pistol. The competition is broken down into three phases
-Rifle
-Pistol
-Action/multigun
I will divide my comments amongst each phase of competition.
RIFLE:
The rifle portion of the competition takes place on a Known Distance (KD) range with courses of fire from 500yds all the way up to 25yds. Shots are fired onto "E" type silhouettes that are modified to contain scoring rings, referred to as EIC (Excellence in Competition) targets. These same targets are used for the pistol portion of the competition as well.
Courses of Fire:
Each course of fire starts at the farthest range moving closer to the targets through each round. Each round consists of 10 rounds fired from one or two magazines. Positions are prone, kneeling, and standing. Some of the courses of fire are "slow fire" and some are "rapid." Pay close attention to what your next time hack is so you are able to get all your rounds off. After each round you will move to the base of the burm preparing to run forward to the next get in position and engage targets. Time starts once your targets appear so move at a light double time and you will be fine. Typically 1/3 of your time would be spent moving and the rest shooting. So 90sec---run---& shoot for the remaining 60secs at your position. Keep a watch so you can keep track of time.
Equipment: You are required to wear the kit thats issued to you from your unit Kevlar/LCE. The MOLLE FLC was what i saw the most but there were some old school guys with LBE/LBV out there as well. Ultimately there are so many competitors that you can wear pretty much whatever you want within reason. In addition to the standard gear i would recommend bringing the following:
-Binos, spotting scopes work great but you are going to be moving for time in most courses of fire so having something compact is a major plus. Targets are marked with shot spotters after each round of fire but at 500yds its damn near impossible to see anything. You will need to see your groups so you can make adjustments to your dope.
-PMAGS, a no brainer here. If you can, try and get the 20rd mags. I found that i was able to gain a much more stable position as i could lay much closer to the ground with the 20's.
-Log Book, after reading extensively in the precision threads i figured i would give this a try. I cannot emphasize how much this has helped my shooting. Keep track of your shot groups especially so you can refer back to them and analyze future corrections.
-Stool, the rifle phase makes for long days and during your few breaks having somewhere to chill for a few is nice. I wish i had brought one.
Key points:
-Practice running 100yds getting into position and shooting within 90/60 seconds
-Keep a watch to track time
-Practice wind adjustments and hold offs extensively. At the 500 conditions were changing quickly and dialing in windage was too slow sometimes.
-Keep elevation dope marked on some 100mph tape on your stock.
-Talk to EVERYONE, there are some seriously experienced shooters there. I owe many points to a particular 1SG who kept feeding me his techniques. I used what i liked and benefited from his experience. That being said, there are some soldiers who are NOT as knowledgeable so be careful who you are listening to until those first shot spotters pop up.
-The Audie Murphy match consists of a 1.8 mile run in full kit up to the firing line before firing. Fairly simple, show up in shape to get more points on the run. At 17:00 you broke even and lost points up to the cut off at 25:00
PISTOL
The second two day phase of competition. Distances are from 35yds to 10yds slow and rapid fire. Fired on the same paper EIC targets as rifle. There was a much lower number of people who seemed very knowledgeable on pistol marksmanship. But hey, the army doesnt shoot pistol very much as a whole. Positions are standing two hand, kneeling, prone, standing barricade supported and kneeling barricade supported.
Equipment: Same as rifle with the addition of holster. You are required to bring whats issued but again i saw some variations here. Most carried Serpa drop legs. I threaded my Serpa through my ACU belt to get it off my hip. It worked much better for me that way. There is a 2 mile run for pistol and having the holster on your hip is favorable to on your leg.
Positions: Two hand standing is a no brainer. I had the benefit of attending an AMU pistol clinic where i adopted a staggered stance like a boxer for example. This was different to what i had learned before but was a huge benefit to me. My scores improved greatly. For kneeling you are allowed to use both knees on the ground, i recommend this technique. I found it to be much more stable. Prone requires some minor getting used to so if you have never done it try it out to get familiar. For the barricade positions get some practice before hand and keep that slide from dragging and getting stoppages.
Key Points:
-Practice magazine reloads, some courses of fire are very quick (20sec) so you dont have time to dick around.
-A dump pouch is a must, some firing points are pretty sandy and will fuck your shit up if you are clumsy with those mags.
-WATCH, you need one to stay on track
-Practice slow and rapid fire. Make sure you take your time with the slow fire phases, 60secs is a long time and there is no excuse to drop points by rushing
ACTION
The last two days of competition are action pistol/rifle. You will fire on steels and paper targets. If you have never fired this type of match before get some practice ahead of time, many soldiers were far behind the power curve as first timers. Equipment same as pistol and rifle, that dump pouch is a must here to keep your mags clean. Im running short on time so here are some key points:
-War game out each phase before going through to make sure you cut seconds off your time.
-Try not to be first, you will learn from watching others go before you
-There is one stage with some 100yd rifle shots on 6in steels. Make sure you compensate for how you zero. The X zone on those EIC targets is mid chest so if your point of aim was center mass your point of impact will be higher (for me at least). So pay attention to the difference between point of aim/impact because you have very little margin for error. Aim high/low as required
Closing:
If you do well you will win some pretty good shit. Secretary of the Army custom M1 garand for rifle, AMU customized 1911 for action, and a sweet 1911 for pistol. Guys won a swarovski scope, a dillon press, various AR rifles, and the prize table had a shit load of geisslle triggers, danner boot certificates, versapods, the list goes on. I was in the cadet category and got a 1k scholarship.
Its a great opportunity to get some awesome training and maybe come away with some cool prizes. If there are any questions please ask I will be more than happy to share my experiences."
Location: Dahlonega, GA
"The "All Army" competition is hosted every year at Ft. Benning, GA. This year it was from 19-26 March. There were 301 competitors making this the largest All Army in 18 years.
(My apologies if this is in the wrong place)
I am listing this here because more than just being a competition it is a fantastic training opportunity. The Army Marksmanship Unit goes to great lengths to give professional blocks of instruction before each phase of competition. The majority of this training was held in a "train the trainer" format with the expectation that soldiers participating would bring the lessons they learned back to their units and integrate them into their marksmanship training.
Hosted by the AMU All Army is the largest Army sponsored marksmanship competition. It consists of competitive courses of fire with the M16a2/M4, and the M9 pistol. The competition is broken down into three phases
-Rifle
-Pistol
-Action/multigun
I will divide my comments amongst each phase of competition.
RIFLE:
The rifle portion of the competition takes place on a Known Distance (KD) range with courses of fire from 500yds all the way up to 25yds. Shots are fired onto "E" type silhouettes that are modified to contain scoring rings, referred to as EIC (Excellence in Competition) targets. These same targets are used for the pistol portion of the competition as well.
Courses of Fire:
Each course of fire starts at the farthest range moving closer to the targets through each round. Each round consists of 10 rounds fired from one or two magazines. Positions are prone, kneeling, and standing. Some of the courses of fire are "slow fire" and some are "rapid." Pay close attention to what your next time hack is so you are able to get all your rounds off. After each round you will move to the base of the burm preparing to run forward to the next get in position and engage targets. Time starts once your targets appear so move at a light double time and you will be fine. Typically 1/3 of your time would be spent moving and the rest shooting. So 90sec---run---& shoot for the remaining 60secs at your position. Keep a watch so you can keep track of time.
Equipment: You are required to wear the kit thats issued to you from your unit Kevlar/LCE. The MOLLE FLC was what i saw the most but there were some old school guys with LBE/LBV out there as well. Ultimately there are so many competitors that you can wear pretty much whatever you want within reason. In addition to the standard gear i would recommend bringing the following:
-Binos, spotting scopes work great but you are going to be moving for time in most courses of fire so having something compact is a major plus. Targets are marked with shot spotters after each round of fire but at 500yds its damn near impossible to see anything. You will need to see your groups so you can make adjustments to your dope.
-PMAGS, a no brainer here. If you can, try and get the 20rd mags. I found that i was able to gain a much more stable position as i could lay much closer to the ground with the 20's.
-Log Book, after reading extensively in the precision threads i figured i would give this a try. I cannot emphasize how much this has helped my shooting. Keep track of your shot groups especially so you can refer back to them and analyze future corrections.
-Stool, the rifle phase makes for long days and during your few breaks having somewhere to chill for a few is nice. I wish i had brought one.
Key points:
-Practice running 100yds getting into position and shooting within 90/60 seconds
-Keep a watch to track time
-Practice wind adjustments and hold offs extensively. At the 500 conditions were changing quickly and dialing in windage was too slow sometimes.
-Keep elevation dope marked on some 100mph tape on your stock.
-Talk to EVERYONE, there are some seriously experienced shooters there. I owe many points to a particular 1SG who kept feeding me his techniques. I used what i liked and benefited from his experience. That being said, there are some soldiers who are NOT as knowledgeable so be careful who you are listening to until those first shot spotters pop up.
-The Audie Murphy match consists of a 1.8 mile run in full kit up to the firing line before firing. Fairly simple, show up in shape to get more points on the run. At 17:00 you broke even and lost points up to the cut off at 25:00
PISTOL
The second two day phase of competition. Distances are from 35yds to 10yds slow and rapid fire. Fired on the same paper EIC targets as rifle. There was a much lower number of people who seemed very knowledgeable on pistol marksmanship. But hey, the army doesnt shoot pistol very much as a whole. Positions are standing two hand, kneeling, prone, standing barricade supported and kneeling barricade supported.
Equipment: Same as rifle with the addition of holster. You are required to bring whats issued but again i saw some variations here. Most carried Serpa drop legs. I threaded my Serpa through my ACU belt to get it off my hip. It worked much better for me that way. There is a 2 mile run for pistol and having the holster on your hip is favorable to on your leg.
Positions: Two hand standing is a no brainer. I had the benefit of attending an AMU pistol clinic where i adopted a staggered stance like a boxer for example. This was different to what i had learned before but was a huge benefit to me. My scores improved greatly. For kneeling you are allowed to use both knees on the ground, i recommend this technique. I found it to be much more stable. Prone requires some minor getting used to so if you have never done it try it out to get familiar. For the barricade positions get some practice before hand and keep that slide from dragging and getting stoppages.
Key Points:
-Practice magazine reloads, some courses of fire are very quick (20sec) so you dont have time to dick around.
-A dump pouch is a must, some firing points are pretty sandy and will fuck your shit up if you are clumsy with those mags.
-WATCH, you need one to stay on track
-Practice slow and rapid fire. Make sure you take your time with the slow fire phases, 60secs is a long time and there is no excuse to drop points by rushing
ACTION
The last two days of competition are action pistol/rifle. You will fire on steels and paper targets. If you have never fired this type of match before get some practice ahead of time, many soldiers were far behind the power curve as first timers. Equipment same as pistol and rifle, that dump pouch is a must here to keep your mags clean. Im running short on time so here are some key points:
-War game out each phase before going through to make sure you cut seconds off your time.
-Try not to be first, you will learn from watching others go before you
-There is one stage with some 100yd rifle shots on 6in steels. Make sure you compensate for how you zero. The X zone on those EIC targets is mid chest so if your point of aim was center mass your point of impact will be higher (for me at least). So pay attention to the difference between point of aim/impact because you have very little margin for error. Aim high/low as required
Closing:
If you do well you will win some pretty good shit. Secretary of the Army custom M1 garand for rifle, AMU customized 1911 for action, and a sweet 1911 for pistol. Guys won a swarovski scope, a dillon press, various AR rifles, and the prize table had a shit load of geisslle triggers, danner boot certificates, versapods, the list goes on. I was in the cadet category and got a 1k scholarship.
Its a great opportunity to get some awesome training and maybe come away with some cool prizes. If there are any questions please ask I will be more than happy to share my experiences."
Location: Dahlonega, GA
