SDM Training

The Squad Designated Marksmanship Course is a 10-day training program held at Ft. Benning, Georgia. The focus of the course is on the Soldier’s need to rapidly engage targets at 300-600 meters with accurate fires under day and night conditions. The program begins with the fundamentals of marksmanship and progresses to more rapid and accurate engagements employing the individual rifle. The following are samples of the skills trained:

• Correctly zeroing iron sights at 25 meters  
• Fundamentals as they apply (sight picture, sight alignment, trigger control)
• Theory and method of grouping and of zeroing
• Understanding external ballistics at extended ranges
• Rapid and effective manipulation of individual weapon system for reloads and positioning
• Supported and unsupported position shooting while wearing full combat gear
• Single and multiple target engagements
• Effective employment of barricades
• Shooters will learn how to analyze/self critique their performance in order to identify areas for self improvement
• Learn how to compensate for environmental conditions

This is not the entire Program of Instruction for the course, but it gives a pretty good understanding of what the AMU SDM course is designed to accomplish, turn out a Soldier that can make a hit on a man sized target at 600 yards from field expedient shooting positions in standard kit through the wind and understands the principles involved.

Conversely the Big Army doctrine as outlined in FM 3-22.9 covers:

• Position Shooting, Foxhole, Prone Unsupported
• Dry Fire Training, Dime and Washer, Borelight
• Range Estimation Training
• Elevation Knob Training
• Windage Knob Training, affects of wind on ballistics
• Record Fire Event, score 14 of 20 or higher, 100 to 500 meters

So why the divergent difference between the Army Marksmanship Unit SDM training and official doctrine for Big Army?  The answer is in the additional knowledge needed not just to be a good shooter, but a good instructor.  Every skill that Big Army teaches as doctrine for SDM training has a checklist of performance measures associated with it that any competent NCO or Officer can download, put into a training packet, and use to train Soldiers.  For those who have been through it, the "Range Estimation Training" is going to be dang near exactly what you would get from EIB training.

The AMU on the other hand, is not seeking to impart just skills, but actual knowledge.  How would I train someone to be an SDM standard?  3 Gun competition and High Power competition.  If you can do those two activities well, you will eventually meet the standard (and more than likely exceed it easily).