Photo By Sgt. Alexa Hernandez | U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Samuel Szymanski, a Toledo, Ohio native and team leader with...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps infantry rifleman, commonly known as 0311, is the primary assault and close combat force available to the Marine Air Ground Task Force. These young Marines are trained to take any objective, no matter the difficulty and expected to learn and implement complex concepts and tactics early on in their careers. One Marine’s dedication to his junior riflemen would spark innovation that impacted the efficiency of his platoon and would cause a positive learning curve for 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division (MARDIV).
On May 26, 2024, Sgt. Samuel Szymanski, a Toledo, Ohio native and squad leader with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d MARDIV, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal by the 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric M. Smith for the creation of the 0311 Handbook. This handbook would be a guide that his Marines could carry with them at all times to use as a reference for important combat tactics and skills.
“I created this in 2023 while on the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to help my junior infantrymen become more lethal and proficient at a faster rate. I felt this book was something junior Marines were missing,” said Szymanski.
The 59-page handbook provided insight for current concepts such as the basics of land navigation, tactical combat casualty care, immediate action drills, call for fire, weapons capabilities and limitations, and a list of commonly used acronyms and their meanings. It provided the skill sets necessary to be a tactically and technically proficient rifleman.
To ensure the handbook was accurately depicting key concepts, Szymanski received input from a wide variety of credible sources such as platoon commanders, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, corpsmen, company radio operators, and the battalion gunner. He wrote the handbook as if he were talking to his junior Marines, combining real-world experience with subject matter expertise.
News of Szymanski’s handbook spread aboard the USS Bataan (LHD-5) and soon after, he was flooded with feedback from his leadership, peers, and junior Marines. Szymanski primarily used Marine Corps doctrine and publications as references to ensure the handbook maintained consistency with doctrinal training expected of the basic Marine Corps rifleman.
“Sgt. Szymanski used his own words while referencing specific publications in order to make shortcuts where Marines can continue to learn more regarding a specific subject. The 0311 Handbook is another piece of armor that I think can be impactful enough to add to our overall institutional resilience,” said Maj. Travis Bird, the former company commander of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d MARDIV.
When compared to the Tactical Handbook, Unit Leader, Small (THULS), the 0311 Handbook is geared more towards junior Marines and basic concepts, whereas THULS carries a variety of templates for combat reports and checklists.
“We recently conducted a few Individual Performance Assessments on combat orders, call for fire, basic infantry knowledge, and operational terms and graphics. The handbook improved my understanding of what I was going to be tested on,” said Lance Cpl. Damien Begraph, a rifleman with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d MARDIV.
Szymanski presented the beginning phases of this collaborated handbook to his company operations chief, who quickly realized the impact this could have, not only at the company level, but for the infantry community.
“As a junior Marine, I had about three different Write in the Rain notebooks full of notes that I had to quickly annotate and try to prioritize based on what I thought was the most important,” explained Gunnery Sgt. Jesse S. Pearson, the former company operations chief of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d MARDIV. “Distributing this across all infantry units within the Corps will afford Marines the opportunity to reference organized, doctrinal information to establish a solid foundation for teaching, training, and standard operating procedure development.”
Although Szymanski may have started this handbook for his platoon of roughly 20 Marines, since its completion, other battalions in the regiment have requested to have copies made for their junior Marines.
“The handbook has been used by team and squad leaders throughout the battalion both as a teaching tool and a quick reference guide in the field, allowing small unit leaders to make more informed decisions based on accurate Marine Corps infantry instruction,” said 1st Lt. Brennan Welcher, the executive officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d MARDIV.
This is not the last of Szymanski’s plan to innovate and improve the learning within the riflemen in his regiment. His next goals are to create more handbooks specialized for leadership roles, such as team and squad leaders. It is Marine leaders like Szymanski who continue to shape and evolve the culture of continuous learning and professional competence in the 2d Marine Division.
| Date Taken: | 07.12.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.12.2024 13:58 |
| Story ID: | 476066 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | TOLEDO, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 2,593 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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