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A Marksmanship Qualification Badge is a military badge of the United States Army and United States Marine Corps which is presented to service members upon successful completion of a weapons qualification course. They are issued in the three grades (in order of precedence): Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman. Marine Corps and Army recruits cannot exit initial training until a qualification of at least Marksman has been obtained. [1] [2]
The Marine Corps only issues marksmanship badges for the pistol and rifle, while the Army issues marksmanship badges for a variety of weapons. [1] [2]
The Army and Marine Corps are the only services that issue marksmanship badges for non-competition qualification. Marksmanship Medals and/or Marksmanship Ribbons are issued by the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Air Force to denote weapons qualifications. However, all of the United States armed forces awarded marksmanship competition badges to service members who succeed in officially sponsored competitions. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The United States Army issues marksmanship qualification badges to enlisted personnel at three different qualification levels; expert, sharpshooter, and marksman. Suspended from the badge are qualification bars that indicate the specific weapon(s) in which the soldier has qualified. Qualification bars are authorized for the following weapons (listed with exact inscription): Rifle, Pistol, AA Arty, Auto Rifle, Machinegun, Field Artillery, Tank Weapons, Flamethrower, Submachine Gun, Rocket Launcher, Grenade, Carbine, Recoilless Rifle, Mortar, Bayonet, Small Bore Rifle, Small Bore Pistol, Missile, and Aero-weapons. Only three marksmanship badges are authorized for wear at one time and each may only have up to three qualification bars. [1] [7] [8]
Army marksmanship qualification badges are not permanent awards. Each soldier must, at a minimum, re-qualify every 12 month with the same weapon and at the same level in order to continue to wear a specific marksmanship badge and qualification bar. If a Soldier does not re-qualify within 12 month, the badge and/or qualification bar is no longer authorized for wear. [7]
The United States Marine Corps marksmanship qualification badges are suspended beneath a bar reading the type of weapon and qualification received. The badge is also different in appearance, depending on which weapon qualification has been obtained. [2]
For a Marine Corps marksmanship qualification badge to be earned, a Marine must obtain a passing score at a annual weapons qualification event. After qualifying, a Marine will receive a marksmanship badge commensurate with the score they obtained. For annual qualification with the service rifle, scores for marksman range from 250–279, 280–304 for sharpshooter, and 305–350 for expert. For annual qualification with the service pistol, the scores range from 245-304 for marksman, 305-344 for sharpshooter, and 345-400 for expert. [9]
Once a qualification has been obtained and the appropriate marksmanship badge issued, that badge may be worn for the remainder of a Marine's military career, or until a different level of qualification (higher or lower) is achieved. Typically, all Marines qualify with the rifle on an annual basis. The most recent qualification score determines the badge that is worn. If a Marine achieves the qualification of expert multiple times in a Marine's career with the rifle or pistol, an additional "rung" is added to the respective badge denoting the number of awards earned. If that same Marine then qualifies as a sharpshooter or marksman at a later date, they will wear that respective badge until they again qualify as an expert. [9]
The U.S. government established the Distinguished International Shooter Badge, Distinguished Rifleman/Marksman Badge, and the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge as its highest awards for marksmanship. The 1996 federal law created the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) as a “federally-chartered” corporation authorized to promote practice and safety in the use of firearms through the conduct of matches and competitions as well as to award prizes, trophies, badges, and other insignia to high performing competitors. This authorization carried with it the responsibility to administer the Distinguished Shooter program. The CMP maintains records of a points earned by shooters and presents appropriate badges to those who qualify. [10] [11]
First created in 1903, Distinguished Shooter Badges may be either a military-issued badge of the U.S. military, or a civilian issued badge. The badge is intended to recognize competitors who have obtained an exceptional score at multiple official marksmanship competitions against a field of their peers. Issued for both rifle and pistol, the Distinguished Shooter Badges can only be earned after a competitor has been awarded thirty (30) credit points, often referred to as "leg points", when competing in the authorized excellence category of competition matches. [10] [11]
Each service's Distinguished Shooter Badge hangs from a service specific attachment bar that is etched with the name of their branch of service. The rifle badge pendant of the Army, Air Force, and U.S. civilians is a gold shield 1 1/2 inches in height and 1 13/32 inches in width, in the center of which is an enameled target between the words "DISTINGUISHED" arcing over and "RIFLEMAN" in a straight line underneath. The sea service's (Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) pendant displays the word “MARKSMAN” vs. RIFLEMAN underneath the target. The pistol badge pendant is similar to the rifle pendant but is 1 1/4 inches in height and 1 3/64 inches in width and has the words "PISTOL SHOT" underneath a slimmer enameled target. The exception to this rule is that the Air Force's Distinguished Pistol Shot pendant, which is the same size and design as the rifle/marksman pendant but with the words "PISTOL SHOT" etched under the target. [8] [10] [11]
These badges are onetime decorations and may be worn for the remainder of an individual’s military career. These badges may be worn simultaneously with the Army's and Marine Corps's marksmanship qualification badges. Subdued and miniature versions are not authorized. [1] [2]
The Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard awards the same Excellence in Competition (EIC) badge, depicted below, for national and interservice competitions. However, the Navy and Coast Guard etched the word "National" or "Interservice" at the top or bottom of their EIC badges respectively to distinguish them from one another. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard award their national and interservice badges at three levels (gold, silver, and bronze) while the Air Force only award their badges at two levels (silver and bronze). [2] [3] [4] [5]
Although authorized under AR 670-1, the Army does not have a national trophy match badge. However, the Army does award a unique interservice competition badge to soldiers who have earned sufficient points in EIC sponsored interservice competitions. The Army's Interservice Competition badge is a hexagon shaped multicolored badge that incorporates the emblems of the five military services and a modified shield from the Great Seal of the United States. The badge hangs from an elaborate attachment bar which bears the name of the event where the badge was earned. [1]
These badges are onetime decorations and may be worn for the remainder of an individual’s military career. These badges may be worn simultaneously with the Army's and Marine Corps's marksmanship qualification badges. Subdued and miniature versions are not authorized. [1] [2]
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) awards Excellence in Competition (EIC) badges to military personnel per the individual shooter's service regulations. For example, the Coast Guard awards their Bronze EIC badge when a member earns his or her first credit points in accordance with Coast Guard Commandant Instruction Manual 8000.2 (series), Ordnance Manual. For civilian competitors, the CMP awards bronze EIC badges after they have earned at least six points towards “Distinguished” designation. The CMP awards silver EIC badges to civilian competitors after they have earned at least 20 points. [5] [12]
All five military services have uniquely designed EIC badges that are awarded to their service members. The Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard award the same EIC badge for national, interservice, and service level competitions. As described in the "National Trophy Match and Interservice Competition Badges" section above, the Navy and Coast Guard slightly modify their EIC badges to help distinguish them from one another. The Navy and Marine Corps continue this practice with their fleet and division level EIC badges, respectively. For these badges, the word "Fleet" is etched at the top of Navy EIC badges while the eagle, globe, and anchor on the Marine Corps EIC badges is replaced with the word "Division."
The following is a list of U.S. military service level and below EIC badges that are authorized for wear on service uniforms in order of precedence by branch: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [10]
These badges are onetime decorations and may be worn for the remainder of an individual’s military career. These badges may be worn simultaneously with the Army's and Marine Corps's marksmanship qualification badges. Subdued and miniature versions are not authorized. [1] [2]
In addition to the marksmanship badges described above, the Marine Corps has numerous other marksmanship competition badges that are authorized for wear on Marine Corps uniforms. These badges are awarded alongside trophies that are presented to the top performing Marines at Marine Corps sponsored marksmanship competitions. The following marksmanship competition badges are authorized for wear on Marine Corps uniforms and are listed in order of precedence: [2]
These badges are onetime decorations and may be worn for the remainder of an individual’s military career. These badges may be worn simultaneously with Marine Corps marksmanship qualification badges. Subdued and miniature versions are not authorized. [2]
The President's Hundred award is presented to the 100 top-scoring military and civilian shooters in the President's Pistol and President's Rifle Matches. All military and civilian personnel who earn this award are presented with a President's Hundred bronze metallic brassard for personal display. A cloth tab with the words "President's Hundred" is worn on the shoulder of the Army Combat Uniform and the enlisted service uniforms of Navy (E-1 through E-6) and Coast Guard personnel who have earned the brassard. A smaller metal version of this tab is worn on the chest of the Army Service Uniform. [1] [4] [5] [7] [13] [14]
The Governor's Twenty Tab is a state level award, awarded to the top 20 shooters in a state. Each year eight are awarded for rifle, eight are awarded for pistol, two are awarded for sniper, and two are awarded for machine gun. Participants might compete against other soldiers and airmen who have already received the award, so there might only be one or two new recipients each year. This tab is worn on the left shoulder pocket of the Army Combat Uniform below individual tabs and above unit and honor guard tabs. [15] [16] [17]
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