Posted on Mar 1, 2023
Is there a pathway to earn EIC points (shooting matches) in the Army through action shooting?
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I've been trying to get EIC points and uniform bling through my shooting hobby. The hoops to get there are pretty steep and regionally biased depending where sanctioned matches are.
It appears the Navy and USMC have instituted a policy that allows their service members to earn Excellence in Competition points toward the Distinguished Shooting badges through action shooting matches such as those put on by USPSA.
THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It opens up the window of opportunity astronomically for everyone. Mainly, these kind of matches are much more prolific just about everywhere.
Currently.........., as I found out the hard way, for us Army folks to earn points toward this badge we have to actual earn the points at an Army sanctioned match. Getting points at an equivalent civilian match only earns points toward the civilian award (regardless that a civilian match will be harder to compete in since the competitors are usually much better). There are ways to transfer civilian points, but it's just another hoop.
I've already kicked this question back to the Army Shooting Team. I'm just reaching out here as well.
Crossing fingers. I hope the Navy/USMC policy encourages the Army to follow. Getting EIC points via action shooting (USPSA) will be much easier (at the very least much more available)
It pretty much nails the coffin shut with bulls eye shooting.
It appears the Navy and USMC have instituted a policy that allows their service members to earn Excellence in Competition points toward the Distinguished Shooting badges through action shooting matches such as those put on by USPSA.
THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It opens up the window of opportunity astronomically for everyone. Mainly, these kind of matches are much more prolific just about everywhere.
Currently.........., as I found out the hard way, for us Army folks to earn points toward this badge we have to actual earn the points at an Army sanctioned match. Getting points at an equivalent civilian match only earns points toward the civilian award (regardless that a civilian match will be harder to compete in since the competitors are usually much better). There are ways to transfer civilian points, but it's just another hoop.
I've already kicked this question back to the Army Shooting Team. I'm just reaching out here as well.
Crossing fingers. I hope the Navy/USMC policy encourages the Army to follow. Getting EIC points via action shooting (USPSA) will be much easier (at the very least much more available)
It pretty much nails the coffin shut with bulls eye shooting.
Marksmanship
Training Soldiers
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Posted 1 y ago
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When I was in, you could earn the NRA's Distinguished Shooter Award and wear it on your uniform.
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This will enrich the culture within the Army and pay dividends on the battlefield.
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Good luck. It sounds like something the Army should do and it takes someone bringing it up to the right person. The wheels of policy always turn slow.
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CPT (Join to see)
Which is my intent.
Wouldn't a great paper in the ILE process be getting the USN/USMC data on the weapon qual standards of a population of service members BEFORE they started picking up the EIC program and then their weapon qual standards after the EIC program.
Then compare those results against their service member peers who didn't pursue the program.
Then mention........... BTW how much it did not cost the USN/USMC to get them to that level of training because they were motivated by uniform bling that at the end of that day really doesn't add any career advantage to the promotion system (other than a single bullet point for a single Evaluation at a single point in time)
Then mention comparably, that BTW a civilian match on par with larger military events costs the services nothing to the service in question. They don't have to schedule a range. They don't have to get enough safety NCO's, they don't have to secure Ammo, they don't have to secure Combat Life Savers, they don't have to move weapons from the armory, they don't have to secure billeting, etc.......
Then possibly............. how about coordinating with USPSA for a course of fire that is in line with the new standards, or at least using reduced targets to simulate distances a lot of civilian ranges don't have. That would cost both organizations nearly nothing as well. It's just a course of fire. Then the program institutes a match course of fire more in line with actually increasing weapon qual scores as well.
*******
From my experience the #1 problem with USAR soldiers qualifying is losing time fumbling with the weapon during transitions and reloads. It's not actually pulling the trigger while on target. It's losing time not knowing how to manipulate all the bells and whistles on the system.
Wouldn't a great paper in the ILE process be getting the USN/USMC data on the weapon qual standards of a population of service members BEFORE they started picking up the EIC program and then their weapon qual standards after the EIC program.
Then compare those results against their service member peers who didn't pursue the program.
Then mention........... BTW how much it did not cost the USN/USMC to get them to that level of training because they were motivated by uniform bling that at the end of that day really doesn't add any career advantage to the promotion system (other than a single bullet point for a single Evaluation at a single point in time)
Then mention comparably, that BTW a civilian match on par with larger military events costs the services nothing to the service in question. They don't have to schedule a range. They don't have to get enough safety NCO's, they don't have to secure Ammo, they don't have to secure Combat Life Savers, they don't have to move weapons from the armory, they don't have to secure billeting, etc.......
Then possibly............. how about coordinating with USPSA for a course of fire that is in line with the new standards, or at least using reduced targets to simulate distances a lot of civilian ranges don't have. That would cost both organizations nearly nothing as well. It's just a course of fire. Then the program institutes a match course of fire more in line with actually increasing weapon qual scores as well.
*******
From my experience the #1 problem with USAR soldiers qualifying is losing time fumbling with the weapon during transitions and reloads. It's not actually pulling the trigger while on target. It's losing time not knowing how to manipulate all the bells and whistles on the system.
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SGM (Join to see)
CPT (Join to see) - There are three transitions, each with a reload, and they each get a ten second gap between targets.
And the required Tables I-V should prepare the Soldier for those transitions and reloads, as well as the basic fundamentals of marksmanship, well enough to qualify.
Even if that is the one and only time per year that Soldier is training with a weapon.
The transitions could cause a Soldier to miss up to three targets, one per transition, but you can miss 17 and still qualify.
If the Soldier fails to hit at least 23 of 40 possible targets, it's not the "bells and whistles", it's that the Soldier and their first line leader put zero effort into the first five required tables,
And the required Tables I-V should prepare the Soldier for those transitions and reloads, as well as the basic fundamentals of marksmanship, well enough to qualify.
Even if that is the one and only time per year that Soldier is training with a weapon.
The transitions could cause a Soldier to miss up to three targets, one per transition, but you can miss 17 and still qualify.
If the Soldier fails to hit at least 23 of 40 possible targets, it's not the "bells and whistles", it's that the Soldier and their first line leader put zero effort into the first five required tables,
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