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The Marksmanship Medal is a
, Department of the Navy, dated 12 August 2009, last accessed 18 February 2013 Those qualifying as an expert marksman are authorized to wear the Marksmanship Medal, awarded as two separate decorations for rifle or pistol qualifications. Those having qualified on both pistol and rifle may receive both medals for simultaneous wear. The Marksmanship Medal is worn as a full-sized medal on dress uniforms. On a duty uniform all successful qualifiers may wear the award as the standard Marksmanship Ribbon. Those qualifying as an expert are authorized to wear the Expert device on the ribbon and those qualifying as a sharpshooter are authorized a "S" device (Navy-bronze and Coast Guard-silver) for that ribbon. The Navy Marksmanship Medals were first issued in 1969. Similarly, the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs awards the Alaska Adjutant General's Marksmanship Proficiency Medals, one for rifle and one for pistol, to the top ten guardsman with the highest aggregate scores at the Alaska National Guard Adjutant General's Match. The winners of these awards are selected to join the state's marksmanship team to represent the Alaska National Guard at the Winston P. Wilson Rifle and Pistol Championships for a chance to win the Chief's Fifty Marksmanship Badge. A red, white, and blue ribbon is used to represent both medals (
); however, the actual rifle and pistol medals suspended by this ribbon are distinct.Alaska: National Guard Adjutant General's Marksmanship Proficiency Award (Pistol)
Medals of the World, updated 25 December 2004, last accessed 6 December 2014
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and the U.S. Coast Guard military award and is the highest award one may receive for weapons qualification. The Marksmanship Medal is the equivalent of the Expert Marksmanship Badge in the U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
. Additionally, select State National Guard organizations award marksmanship medals to guardsmen who achieve some of the highest aggregate scores at state-level marksmanship competitions.
The Marksmanship Medal is awarded for qualifying as an expert marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized telescopic sight, scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper ri ...
on either the SIG Sauer M18
The SIG Sauer M17 and M18 are service pistols derived from the SIG Sauer P320 in use with the United States Armed Forces.
Design
When the requirements were formulated for a new handgun for the U.S. Army, one of the tenets of the proposal was ...
(Navy or Coast Guard), 9×19mm Beretta M9
The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1 ...
(Navy or Coast Guard), .40 S&W SIG P229 DAK (Coast Guard only), or M16 rifle
The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
. To qualify at the expert level, a superior score must be obtained on an approved weapons qualification course. The standard Navy weapons qualification course for pistol normally consists of several courses of fire from strong-side supported (standing), weak-side supported (standing), and strong-side supported (kneeling) positions. For the rifle, the Navy qualification course consists of firing from a sitting and prone positions.OPNAVINST 3591.1F, Small Arms Training and Qualification, Department of the Navy, dated 12 August 2009, last accessed 18 February 2013 Those qualifying as an expert marksman are authorized to wear the Marksmanship Medal, awarded as two separate decorations for rifle or pistol qualifications. Those having qualified on both pistol and rifle may receive both medals for simultaneous wear. The Marksmanship Medal is worn as a full-sized medal on dress uniforms. On a duty uniform all successful qualifiers may wear the award as the standard Marksmanship Ribbon. Those qualifying as an expert are authorized to wear the Expert device on the ribbon and those qualifying as a sharpshooter are authorized a "S" device (Navy-bronze and Coast Guard-silver) for that ribbon. The Navy Marksmanship Medals were first issued in 1969. Similarly, the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs awards the Alaska Adjutant General's Marksmanship Proficiency Medals, one for rifle and one for pistol, to the top ten guardsman with the highest aggregate scores at the Alaska National Guard Adjutant General's Match. The winners of these awards are selected to join the state's marksmanship team to represent the Alaska National Guard at the Winston P. Wilson Rifle and Pistol Championships for a chance to win the Chief's Fifty Marksmanship Badge. A red, white, and blue ribbon is used to represent both medals (
); however, the actual rifle and pistol medals suspended by this ribbon are distinct.Medals of the World, updated 25 December 2004, last accessed 6 December 2014
See also
*Marksmanship Device
A Marksmanship Ribbon device is primarily a miniature metal rifle, pistol, target, service star, or letter E or S which may be worn if authorized on a Marksmanship Ribbon awarded to members of the United States Coast Guard, United States Air Forc ...
*Marksmanship Badge (United States)
In the United States (U.S.), a marksmanship badge is a U.S. military badge or a civilian badge which is awarded to personnel upon successful completion of a weapons qualification course (known as marksmanship qualification badges) or high achiev ...
*Awards and decorations of the United States military
Various medals, service ribbons, United States military award devices, ribbon devices, and specific Military badges of the United States, badges recognize military service and personal accomplishments of members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Such awa ...
References
{{USCG decorations Awards and decorations of the United States Navy Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard Awards established in 1969Medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...