The message, first reported by Coffee or Die Magazine, said that
Infantry companies will no longer have Marines trained as snipers, but they will keep "designated marksmen." It's not the first time the Corps has dropped the scout snipers.
The current scout sniper course has very high standards, and only about 44% of the Marines selected for the course graduate. However, being a Marine Scout Sniper is only a secondary MOS.
The Marine Corps will reconfigure all of its infantry battalions and shrink them from roughly 900 to just over 800 Marines by this fall as part of the service's ongoing Force Design modernization effort.
The U.S. Marine Corps is undergoing its biggest reorganization in decades, slimming down and chopping weapon systems, such as tanks and howitzers, in an effort to become quicker, more agile, and more lethal, while specializing in operating in island chains and coastal areas.
The service AAVs were permanently banned from water operations in December. In 2020, an AAV sank off the coast of California killing eight Marines and one sailor, which prompted the water ban from the service.
Last year, the Marine Corps got rid of the last of its active duty tank units and most of its traditional tube artillery as part of FD2030. This was Berger's plan to reshape the Marine Corps primarily to fight a prospective long-range, high-tech, over-water war with China.
2/5 is the most highly decorated battalion in the Marine Corps, and their motto, "Retreat, Hell!", comes from the French trenches of World War I, when a Marine officer named Lloyd W. Williams was advised by a French officer to retreat and replied, "Retreat?
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger has said he plans on using the money saved by shrinking the force, along with cutting “legacy” capabilities like tanks and tube artillery, to reinvest in the more important technology for the future war.
Marine Corps training is considered one of the toughest to scale through because they are an offensive force. Marines go through a grueling 13-week boot camp training that tests physical stamina, mental toughness and moral integrity.
Marine Corps: Scout Sniper
The Scout Sniper is a Marine skilled in field craft and marksmanship who delivers long range, precision fire on selected targets from concealed positions in support of combat operations. They have a secondary mission of gathering information for intelligence purposes.
Must hold any rank from Lance Corporal (E-3) to Captain (O-3), inclusive. Infantry MOS or MOS 0203 (Ground Intelligence Officer). Vision correctable to 20/20 in both eyes. Color blindness is discouraged.
Marine Scout Snipers
They're not super elite in that the military will use them for raids, but their expertise at recon and shooting high-valued targets in the face puts them squarely into the realm of special operations. Their 8.5 week initial training consists of: Marksmanship and field craft: Running.
Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney (born 1949) is a former United States Marine who holds the Corps' record for the most confirmed sniper kills, having recorded 103 confirmed kills and 216 probable kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War. Lakeview, Oregon, U.S.
The deadliest sniper in Marine Corps history is Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney. During the Vietnam War, he had 103 confirmed kills and 216 probable kills over 16 months in country.
The Marine Corps Scout Sniper With More Confirmed Kills Than Carlos Hathcock. Marine Corps scout sniper Chuck Mawhinney is credited with 103 confirmed kills and an additional 216 probables. Composite by Coffee or Die Magazine. It was Valentine's Day, 1969.
The principle of “never leaving a man behind” is based on the idea that every member of a military unit is critical to the success of the mission. If a soldier is wounded, lost, or captured, the unit must make every effort to recover or rescue them, even if it puts other members of the unit at risk.
The aggressive culture of the Marine Corps was born out of the Spanish-American war in 1898 as a way to differentiate the Corps from the Navy, said Heather Venable, an associate professor at the Air Command and Staff College and author of “How the Few Became the Proud,” an early history of the Marine Corps' mystique.
Of the seven MOSs facing cuts, the most highly populated include armor Marines, main battle tank repairer/technicians and military police officers.
Marine Corps and Navy special operations forces: Raiders, Force RECON and SEAL teams. First, the Marine Corps has two primary special operations forces: The Marine Raiders and the Force RECON units. As part of the Special Operations Command, the Marine Raiders run small lethal teams to eliminate targets.
The phrase “jarheads” is also a slang phrase used by sailors when referring to Marines. The term first appeared as early as World War II and referred to Marines' appearance wearing their dress blue uniforms. The high collar on the uniform and the Marines' head popping out of the top resembled a Mason Jar.
In 2020-2021, all 3 active duty law enforcement battalions were deactivated as part of the Marine Corps' Force Design 2030 plan.
The Marine Corps has had precedence over the Navy since 1921 because the Marine Corps has been very consistent in citing its origins as the legislation of the Continental Congress that established the Continental Marines on 10 November 1775.
The Marines Are Often First on the Ground
In fact, the branch is sometimes referred to as the “tip of the spear,” because these combat-ready units typically spearhead conflict operations.