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Competitors, dressed heavily against the cold and wind, try to stay warm between firing times during the intramural rifle and pistol championships March 3 at Weapons Training Battalion.
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The wind was the worst part. Gortex gear, polypro tops and bottoms, field scarves — the best all these articles of clothing did was to mitigate the windburn. But every little bit counted as the shooters steadied their muscles, trying to regulate their breathing cycles.
It was a cold week during the 2010 Quantico intramural rifle and pistol championships March 1 – 4.
To the shooters, though, it was just another competition, one that will decide which of the 12 participants will advance to the division-level championships in Camp Lejeune, N.C., later this year.
‘‘The last few days have been nothing but cold and windy,” said Lance Cpl. Mathew Berkhause, a brig guard with Security Battalion, as he stepped of the firing line with his M16A2 service rifle slung. ‘‘You just have to control your body despite the shaking.”
Berkhause, a 21-year-old Sissonville, W.Va., native, shoots consistently at the expert qualification level. He recently received his third expert award.
‘‘I just focus on the front sight tip of my rifle and try to forget everything else,” said Berkhause.
For very proficient shooters, the average marksman will fire approximately 22,500 rounds from theintramural level up to the national shooting level, according to Staff Sgt. Jason Haislip, a coach on theMarine Corps Shooting Team.
Competitive shooting in the Marine Corps began in 1901, when Col. Charles Lauchheimer started the Competition in Arms Program. Since that time, shooting competitions, which begin at the intramural level, have been mandatory every year per the orders of the commandant.
‘‘This is an important program,” said Haislip, ‘‘because we take Marines, teach them to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship on a highly competitive level and send them back to their units as better, more combat-efficient shooters.”
The Marine Corps Shooting Team takes Marines from active duty stations Corpswide and provides them with the opportunity to travel the country competing with other Marines and services.
‘‘These guys affect marksmanship across the Marine Corps,” said Haislip.
The team not only competes in marksmanship events across the country. It also experiments with new tactics and methods of shootings.
‘‘We want to stay ahead of the curb as far as technology goes,” said Haislip. ‘‘Our whole purpose is to increase marksmanship proficiency and combat readiness.”
The championship lasted four days, the first of which was a practice day. The second day shooters competed individually against one another. Unit teams competed on the third day. The fourth day wasdevoted to the pistol range for an individual and pistol team course of fire.
Berkhause and the rest of the Marines with the Security Battalion team placed ahead of Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 in the team course of fire on the pistol range. However, HMX-1 won out over Berkhause’s team on the rifle team course of fire.
‘‘What we do is give Marines a better understanding of how to apply the fundamentals on a wholly different level,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Pete Burns, the officer in charge of the shooting team. ‘‘These are skills they can take back to their units and pass on to other Marines.”
Competing at the intramural level also prepares the experienced shooters for division, interservice and national matches.
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