[Army Times via Business Insider] Over the next year the Army's new rifle marksmanship qualification standards are being rolled out across the force.US Army Military Academy at Woke Point foto.
They'll put soldiers to the test, cutting the time to shoot and increasing requirements to meet the expert standards. All of this while better simulating some of the features of more realistic combat shooting.
In July, the Army released "TC 3-20.40 Training and Qualification-Individual Weapons," or "Dot-40," that covers not just rifle and carbine marksmanship but also has new standards for pistol and other individual weapons.
The changes, along with a companion manual that updates crew served weapons work, are the biggest revamp to shooting since current system was established in 1956.
As many as 200 marksmanship experts contributed to the two-year project, led by the Maneuver Center of Excellence's Directorate of Training and Doctrine.
The training is broken down into six tables ‐ preliminary marksmanship instruction and evaluation, pre-live fire simulation training, magazine and shooting position drills, grouping and zeroing, practice qualification and qualification.
Shooters will fire at night, also while wearing gas masks. And coaches will assess how they transition from station to station on their own while also changing magazines from their gear.
Previously, soldiers could stack magazines at the ready before firing.