BASIC MARKSMANSHIP TRAINING: Fort Jackson officers demonstrate standard army weapon use

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Fort Jackson, the largest basic combat training installation in the Army, teaches 45,000 soldiers each year in its basic training program alone.

The base employs thousands of workers and contributes more than $2 billion of revenue to the Palmetto State according to a study by the University of South Carolina.

“This is the transformation from being a citizen to a soldier,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis, Fort Jackson commanding general. 

That transformation happens on the more than 50,000 acre installation known as Fort Jackson.

“We have a 10-week program of basic combat training,” Michaelis said. “This is the middle phase where we spend about three weeks making sure they’re competent in their weapon system.”

The first part of that consists of learning weapon safety.

“Always treat this weapon as if it’s loaded, even when we know it’s not,” said Sgt. Ryan Camacho, Fort Jackson senior drill sergeant. “We keep our fingers straight and off the trigger until we’re ready to engage the weapon system at a target. We never point this weapon at anything we do not intend to destroy.”

Weapon safety also includes being sure of your target and what’s around it and keeping the gun on safe until you intend to fire.

Soldiers also have to learn how to disassemble their weapon and put it back together.

“So this M4 consists of the barrel, upper receiver, lower receiver, trigger assembly and the buttstock. These are the parts broken down,” Camacho demonstrated. “You have your bolt carrier and your firing pin. This is the bolt broken down and the charging handle.”

To pass basic marksmanship, soldiers have to score 23 out of 40,  make 23 to 29 for marksman, 30 to 35 for sharpshooter and 36 to 40 for expert.,

“It’s a huge learning curve,” Michaelis said. “What we see when we do something like basic rifle marksmanship is that those who come here who have not been exposed to weapon systems actually learn the right skills at an increased rate.”

As one of those who had not been exposed to weapon systems, we gave it a try with the help of Sergeant Camacho.

“I think what you’ll find is the level of instruction from our cadre, our drill sergeants here, is the best in the world,” the general said. “What we want to produce is the best soldiers in the world. We do that in the gateway we call Fort Jackson every single day.”

Fort Jackson reports that it graduates an average of a thousand basic combat training soldiers each week. On any given day, roughly 10,000 people are training on base.