Provost Marshal’s Office Marines attended quarterly range qualification on Camp Hansen

Photo By Sgt. Brennan Priest | U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Suzette Clemans reloads an M9A1 9mm service pistol during marksmanship training Sept. 25, 2018 at Range 174 on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The training ensures that the PMO Marines are proficient with the M9 that they carry up to 12-hours-a-day per shift. Clemans is a military working dog handler with Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brennan Priest)  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

09.25.2018

Story by Lance Cpl. Brennan Priest 

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan—Marines attended a qualification range Sept. 25, 2018, on Camp Hansen.

The quarterly training provides Provost Marshal’s Office Marines the ability to practice marksmanship with pistols and shotguns.

“The primary importance is to make sure we are maintaining the standards and requirements of the law enforcement manual,” said Gunnery Sgt. Ryan King, chief instructor, Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan. “Military police officers carry a pistol 12-hours-a-day on shift, so it’s really important that their proficiency level is as high as possible.”

The PMO Marines completed low-light training, law enforcement qualifications, a practical weapons course, and a practice Combat Pistol Program course. Each quarterly qualification, the Marines shoot the M9A1 9mm service pistol and the M1014 shotgun.

Marines from all Marine Corps installations on Okinawa attend this quarterly training. Approximately 80 Marines participated in the qualification day.

The PMO Marines use Camp Hansen Range 174. This range provides the ability to practice static shooting as well as shoot-and-move courses.

“We try to use Range 174 complex as much as possible,” said King. “The primary benefit of this facility for us is that it has multiple bays where we can conduct multiple courses of fire simultaneously, which other ranges don’t allow us to do that.”

Range 174 is important because it provides PMO Marines a location to practice and become confident in their equipment, making them more efficient while they are working on the streets, said King.

• Date Taken: 09.25.2018
• Date Posted: 10.01.2018 18:51
• Story ID: 294987
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP