Marksman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A marksman, in a military context, is trained to shoot precisely with a certain type of rifle. Some military doctrines use marksmen attached to an infantry squad. In that capacity the marksman takes accurate longer range shots at valuable targets as needed, thus extending the reach of the squad.
Another term for a marksman is a sharpshooter. In both the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps the progressive sequence of skills is marksman-sharpshooter-expert. Holders of each level wear qualification badges below their ribbons with bars for the weapons they qualified in. In the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard full-sized medals are given, but they are only issued at the expert level. Both services give separate medals for pistol and rifle proficiency. The United States Air Force gives just a ribbon, although an oak leaf cluster can be earned if the wearer qualifies on both of these types of small arms.
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[edit] "Sniper" vs. "Marksman"
A marksman should not be confused with a sniper. Snipers operate individually and are deployed for specific objectives while the marksman operates as a regular member within a unit where his skills are called upon whenever the need for accurate firearms skills arise in the normal course of operations for the unit. While snipers are intensively trained to master field craft and camouflage, these skills are not required for marksmen. There are differences in role and training that affect doctrines and equipment. Snipers rely almost exclusively on more accurate but slower-firing bolt-action rifles while a marksman can effectively utilize a faster-firing, but less accurate semi-automatic rifle. A sniper's intensive training, forward placement and surveillance duties make the role more strategic than a squad-level marksman. Thus, marksmen are often attached at the squad level while snipers are often attached at higher levels such as battalion (cf.: designated marksman).
[edit] British Marksmen
In the British Armed Forces, marksman is traditionally the highest shooting rating. Holders of the rating wear a crossed rifles badge on the lower sleeve.
[edit] Historically
One of the first true appearances of units of sharpshooters was during the American Revolution. American rifle companies, armed with the Pennsylvania/Kentucky Long Rifle served as skirmishers for the Continental Army. Because of the accuracy of these riflemen, many British officers removed their insignia to prevent the Americans from targeting them. The most famous unit of riflemen was Morgan's Riflemen.
[edit] Napoleonic Era
Another use of units of marksmen was during the Napoleonic era in the British Army. While most troops at that time used inaccurate smoothbore muskets, the British "Green Jackets" (named for their distinctive green uniforms) utilized the famous Baker rifle. Through the combination of a leather wad and tight grooves on the inside of the barrel (rifling), this weapon was far more accurate, though slower to load. The Rifles were the elite of the British Army, and served at the forefront of any engagement, most often in skirmish formation, scouting out and delaying the enemy.
[edit] U.S. Civil War
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), sharpshooters saw limited action, as tacticians sought to avoid the heavy casualties inflicted through normal tactics, which involved close ranks of men at close ranges. The sharpshooters used by both sides in the Civil War were less used as snipers, and more as skirmishers and scouts. These elite troops were well equipped and trained, and placed at the front of any column to first engage the enemy. The most notable sharpshooter units of the Civil War were the 1st and 2nd United States Sharpshooters (USSS), who were formed from all states under the command of Hiram Berdan, who was reputed to be the best amateur marksman in the nation at that time. Confederate sharpshooters were often less well equipped, using British Whitworth rifles, rather than breech loading Berdan Sharps rifles. There was also an all-Native American company of sharpshooters in the Union Army. These men, primarily Ojibwe and Potawotami from northern Michigan, comprised the members of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters, Company K.
[edit] Today
The term "marksman" is often used interchangeably with sniper (as often in history) within paramilitary counter-terrorism teams such as SWAT, since only a select few utilize long-range rifles, while the majority are armed with CQB submachine guns.
