Rifle & Pistol Qualification Ribbons and Medals
Compiled by Rob Amagna 

The Rifle and Pistol Ribbons are awarded to Midshipmen who qualify as Marksmen, Sharpshooters and the highest ranked Expert shooters .  Among the Service Academies, the  Marksmanship Ribbon is an award of the USNA, USCGA and the USAFA and is ssued to midshipmen and cadets who pass a weapons qualification course and achieve qualifying scores.  The U.S. Military Academy and U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Qualification Badges instead of Marksmanship Ribbons.  

The Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force services which do award the Marksmanship Ribbon, re-qualification is not necessary once a service member has obtained the decoration and the Marksmanship Ribbon can be worn throughout an individual's entire military career.  In the Navy and Coast Guard, the Marksmanship Ribbon may be upgraded to include the Marksmanship Device if a higher qualification is achieved after the initial award of the ribbon.

At the USNA and USCGA, the Marksman qualifier wears only the ribbon.   The "S" letter pin is added to the Marksman ribbon when a shooter qualifies as Sharpshooter.  An "E" letter pin is added to the Marksman ribbon when a shooter qualifies as Expert.  A Double Expert is one silver "E" on both the Rifle and Pistol Ribbon.   These Navy Ribbons and Medals mark the first earned by USNA Midshipmen in their military careers.  

Pistol Shooters who qualify as Experts receive an Expert Pistol Shot Navy Medal.   Rifle Shooters who qualify as Expert receive an Expert Rifle Shot Navy Medal.  Oklahoma Midshipmen routinely qualify for Sharpshooter and Expert.   

Navy Rifle Expert Medal	Navy Pistol Expert Medal	Navy Rifle Ribbon	Navy Pistol Ribbon

USNA Small Arms Weapons Training
Rifle & Pistol Qualification  
With The M16A2 Battle Rifle and M9 Service Pistol

The Plebe Summer Weapons Battalion, Naval Station, Annapolis puts USNA Plebes through three weeks of small arms weapons instruction.  They train all 15 companies in the use of the 5.56mm Colt M16A2 battle rifle and the Beretta 9mm M9 service pistol.  Approximately 160 plebes in two companies shoot about 17,000 rounds of 5.56mm and 9mm ammunition everyday as reported by Trident Magazine.  Qualifying on the M16A3 rifle and M9 pistol meet the requirements of the U.S. Navy's small arms qualification standards and is required before a midshipman is commissioned an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps.  Naval Officers in the fleet  carry the M9 pistol sidearm and proficiency in small arms greatly contributes to the security of the ships in the fleet.  

Based on rifle and pistol marksmanship performance and proficiency, midshipmen are afforded a chance to earn their first marksmanship ribbons and medals.  Surprisingly many Plebes have never handled or fired a firearm.   They all receive eight hours of marksmanship training on the gun range during Plebe Summer.  The training time breaks down to 4 hours training on the M16 rifle and 4 hours training on the M9 pistol.  Range time is broken down into three stages:

• 1.      Gun Safety Training

• 2.      Marksmanship Training

• 3.      Shoot the Rifle and Pistol Qualification Courses of Fire.

Weapons Training
Small Arms Qualification Courses Of Fire

Rifle Qualifications  

Plebes dry fire the course of fire first to familiarize themselves with their rifles.  Dry firing allows them to develop good shooting fundamentals such as natural point of aim, sight  alignment, sight picture (placement), breath control, trigger control and follow through without the noise and recoil of firing live ammunition. The dry firing drill requires the Plebe to cock the rifle and pull the trigger with no live ammunition in the rifle or pistol breech or magazine.  

1.      Silhouette targets are posted 25 meters down range from the firing line.  

2.      Plebes fire a total of two 40-round sets.  

• Shoot 10 rounds from the standing (off hand) position

• Shoot 15 rounds from the prone position

•  Shoot 15 rounds from either the kneeling position

Rifle Qualification Scores

• Rifle Qualified Marksman must shoot a score of 140 points out of 200 points

• Rifle Qualified Sharpshooter must shoot a score ranging between 160 to 169 points

• Rifle Qualified Expert must shoot a score of 170 or above out of 200 points

Pistol Qualifications 

U.S. M9 Beretta - short recoil, falling locking block,  double action, semiautomatic pistol.  Magazine -  15 round staggered.  Ammunition - M882 9mm NATO,  124 grain, 1,250 feet per second,  full metal jacket.

New Pistol Qualification Course of Fire For The Class of 2009

Plebe Summer 2005:  The Class of 2009 is shooting a much tougher pistol weapons training course of fire.   Qualifying for Sharpshooter and Expert Pistol at the USNA just got harder!  

The Basic Pistol Marksman Course is where the Plebes can qualify for their Pistol Marksman Ribbon.  All Plebes must complete this course and qualify as Marksman  before they can advance to the tougher Security Course.  The Security Course is a much more challenging course of fire were they can qualify for Sharpshooter and Expert.    
In this Basic Pistol Marksman course of fire, the shooter has a total of 5 magazines -  4  magazines with 6 rounds in each and 1 magazine with twelve rounds.  Total number of 9mm rounds fired is 36.  The highest single shot score is 5 points for a possible total score of 180 points (36shots x 5points=180 points).   The Basic Pistol course of fire is shot from the 3, 7 and 15 yard firing lines.  Shooters do not have to shoot from the 25 yard firing line in this basic course.  

The pistol holster is on the right side if the shooter is right-handed, left side if left-handed.  With a bullet in the chamber, hammer in half-cock position and safety engaged, the shooter draws his pistol.   The shooter draws it straight up, and moves the muzzle pointing downrange.  The safety is released and the hammer is cocked back into single action mode.  The shooter then aims and fires the weapon. When holstering or drawing the weapon, the shooter must do so with one hand.   The pistol is drawn from a holster by the shooter for EVERY course of fire and at all firing line distances.  

The 9mm Berretta pistol can be fired in either single action (SA) or double action (DA) mode.  The trigger pull weight in single action is 5.5 lbs, making it much easier to fire an accurate first round.  Firing the M9 in double action substantially increases trigger weight to 12.33 lbs., making first shot accuracy much more challenging.  With the first shot fired, the pistol through blowback pressure, reloads and cocks itself (SA) for the remainder of the cartridges in the magazine.   

3 Yard Line (Requires 2 magazines - 6 rounds in each magazine) 12 total shots fired with a possible score of 60 points.

Fire two rounds in six seconds
Fire two rounds in six seconds
Fire two rounds, 
        Conduct a magazine change, 
Then fire two more rounds in a total of fifteen seconds. 
Fire four rounds in nine seconds. 

7 Yard Line (Requires 2 magazines - 6 rounds in each magazine) 12 total shots fired with a possible score of 60 points.  Shooters move rearward to the seven yard firing line.

Fire two rounds in six seconds
Fire two rounds in six seconds
Fire two rounds, 
       Conduct a magazine change,
Then fire two more rounds in a total of fifteen seconds.
Fire four rounds in nine seconds. 

15 Yard Line  (Requires 1 magazine - 12 rounds in the magazine)   12 total shots fired with a possible score of 60 points.  Shooters move rearward to the fifteen yard firing line.

Fire two rounds in six seconds
Fire two rounds in six seconds 
Fire four rounds in nine seconds
Fire four rounds in nine seconds. 

In this Basic Pistol Marksman Course the Plebes must shoot a qualifying Marksman score of 135 points or more out of a possible 180 points to earn his pistol ribbon. 

Note:  Plebes/Midshipmen do not qualify for Sharpshooter or Expert on this Basic Pistol Qualification Course no matter how well they shoot.  They can technically shoot a perfect score of 180 and not qualify for the "S" or "E" pins.

They have two tries at the Basic Marksman course.   If they meet the minimum Marksman qualifying score of 135 points or better, they move onto the Security Course.  

The Security Course    Just as in the previous Basic Qualification, the Security Course uses  5 magazines.  After the shooter is done with the 3, 7, and 15 yard firing lines, they reload two magazines with six rounds each to shoot at 25 yards.
the Security Course uses  5 magazines.  After the shooter is done with the 3, 7, and 15 yard firing lines, they reload two magazines with six rounds each to shoot at 25 yards.

In the Security Course of fire, the shooter has a total of 5 magazines -  4  magazines with six rounds in each and 1 magazine with twelve rounds.   Total number of 9mm rounds fired is 36.  The highest single shot score is 5 points for a possible total score of 240 points (48 shots x 5points=240 points).   Course of fire is shot from the 3, 7, 15 and 25 yard firing lines.  Shooting from  the 25 yard firing line and shooting an additional 12 rounds are included in this course of fire.  There are strong hand to weak hand transitions.

This pistol target used is the TT-II (Transitional Target II)   - U.S. Treasury Silhouette 5 graduated blue zones.  It is a  blue silhouette over white background measuring 24"x40".  This target is used at the 3, 7, 15 and 25 target lines.   This is a departure from the 
the previous pistol qualification target used in the past which was the 25 meter B21X Reversed  "Standing Man"  Silhouette.   (See pictures below)

3 Yard Line (Requires 2 magazines - 6 rounds in each magazine) 12 total shots fired with a possible score of 60 points.
 
2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
   Magazine change
2 rounds in 10 seconds total time  (strong hand)
2 rounds (strong hand)
   (shooter conducts a weak hand transition)
2 rounds in 8 seconds total time (weak hand) 

7 Yard Line  (Requires 2 magazines - 6 rounds in each magazine) 12 total shots fired with a possible score of 60 points.

2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
2 rounds in 4 seconds (strong hand)
   Magazine change
2 rounds in 10 seconds total time (strong hand)
2 rounds (strong hand)
   (shooter conducts a weak hand transition)
2 rounds in 8 seconds total time  (weak hand)

15 Yard Line  (This state requires 1 magazine - 12 rounds in the magazine) 12 total shots are fired with a possible score of 60 points.  There are no weak hand transitions or magazine changes done at the fifteen yard line. 

2 rounds in 4 seconds
2 rounds in 4 seconds
4 rounds in 8 seconds
4 rounds in 8 seconds

25 Yard Line   (This stage requires the shooter to reload 2 empty magazines with 6 rounds in each.  

6 rounds standing 
   Magazine Change
6 rounds shot over-the-barricade in 45 seconds (total time).  
   (This position allows the shooter to rest his arms on the barricade/bench and half kneel
    on one leg or two as one would shoot over the hood from behind his
    Humvee.) 

Scoring is the same at the 25 yard line as it is at 3, 7, and 15 yards.  
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Terms:
Targets!
Negligent Discharge of a weapon
Fobus Paddle Holsters
Hosing the business end 360 degrees.

Scenes From Weapons Detail At The Annapolis Naval Station Pistol / Rifle Range

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In preparation, Plebes first fire a practice session and then pull their silhouette targets and hang new ones.

They then shoot qualification sessions.  After the two sessions, the pistol coaches score the silhouette targets and figure out who has not yet qualified at that point.  Coaches take those plebes and give them a remedial round where they will shoot another  qualification session.

TARGETS:  This pistol target is the TT-II (Transitional Target II)   - U.S. Treasury Silhouette 5 graduated blue zones.  It is a  blue silhouette over white background measuring 24"x40".  This target is used at the 3, 7, 15 and 25 target lines.  

The TT-I Blue Transitional Target I is a reduced from the larger  TT-II  14" x 20" (not shown here).

The older pistol qualification target used previously in the past was the 25 meter B21X Reversed  "Standing Man"  Silhouette.  It is 23" wide and 35" high with a 5X centershot ring.  The silhouette is light tan with a black background making it easier to focus on sight alignment and the pistol's front sight post.  The highest possible score on this target is 150 points (30 shots times 5).    Although this is a "Kill & Disable" scoring target - scoring this target uses the indicated "K" values.  The "D" values are not counted.  

Pistol hand grip and position techniques may vary.  The Weaver position is very popular.  The isosceles triangle position is also widely used among IDPA competitors and law enforcement officers across the country.    

Pistol Qualification Scores

• Sharpshooter qual is shot with a score of 204 out of 240 points

• Expert qual is shot with a score of > = to 228 out of a possible 240 points  

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LINKS                                             

About CAT - USNA Combat Arms Team  http://www.usna.edu/combat/about.htm 
About SATD - Small Arms Training Program,  Naval Station, Annapolis   http://www.usna.edu/NavalStation/satd.htm      

Learn about the USNA Combat Arms Team or CAT.  "The mission of the United States Naval Academy Combat Arms Team is to train its midshipman members in the safe and accurate employment of various weapons in real-world tactical scenarios.  Learn more about CAT  http://www.usna.edu/combat/about.htm.

Send mail to webmaster Rob.Amagna@Tulsaconnect.com  with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 04/28/08 02:09 PM -0500 

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