MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. --
Marines of various military occupational specialties from across the East Coast competed in the Marine Corps Shooting Team’s 2015 Combat Shooting Match Oct. 26-30 hosted at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
During the first four days of the competition, Marines were challenged during six different courses of fire. The first four stages of fire consisted of shooting static or moving targets while navigating obstacles. The last two stages introduced dragging simulated casualties and carrying ammo cans while simultaneously shooting targets. On the last day of the competition the Marines teamed up to compete against each other.
Marines used the M16A4 service rifle, Beretta M9 pistol and the Benelli M1014 shotgun during the six different stages of competition.
Throughout the match, Marines were expected to achieve speed and accuracy with their weapons through challenging scenarios. The Marine Corps Shooting Team hosts this new program, which was officially started in 2014, to give Marines the ability to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship to a more realistic live-fire range.
This competition takes place on Marine Corps bases throughout the year to ensure Marines around the world have the opportunity to compete.
“We bring the competition to them because we want Marines out here doing what Marines do best: applying the fundamentals of marksmanship that they have learned,” said Staff Sgt. Jaime Vega, a Combat Shooting Team member.
After five days of competition, Staff Sgt. Phillipi Sanz, a Combat Marksmanship Trainer from Quantico’s Weapons and Training Battalion, took first place in the individual competition out of 98 competitors with a score of 458.5 out of a possible 500 points.
The team competition was won by Cpl David Dudley, Cpl Alexander Decker, Cpl Dennise Parsonse, LCpl Connor Boscamp and PFC Maison Hubrig, Marine Wing Support Squadron Marines from Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. These Marines also won first place at the Eastern Combat Shooting Match on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina earlier this year.
The shooting team is excited to make their way to Okinawa, Japan next and see how the Marines perform.