USMC Marine Squad Advanced Marksman

Development of the SAM Squad Sniper and the SAM-R Rifle

Dec 29, 2008

The US Marine Corps began in 2002 to develop a program for Designated Riflemen and Squad Advanced Marksmen, two superb shooters that werent quite snipers.

Since the 1960s and the adoption of the shorter range assault rifle over the traditional battle rifle capable of 1000m shots, a ‘marksmanship gap” has existed in modern ground forces. With the assault rifle normally not used over 300m and specialized long range sniper teams used below 600m this gap was very real. Soviet battle doctrine plugged this gap with a platoon level marksman with a more accurate weapon. Israeli troops fielded a similar response in the 1990s. With the formation of the US Army’s Squad Designated Marksman (SDM) program in 2000 and the subsequent Global War on Terror deployments the Marines did what they always do- they evolved.

Development of the Marine Squad Advanced Marksman

In 2002 the Marines War fighting Lab in a study by the known as Project Metropolis found that a squad level marksman was essential to modern operations. In the same year it was decided that a Squad Advanced Marksman (SAM) would be assigned to all rifle squads, replacing a regular rifleman. With the ethos that all Marines are riflemen the best shooter in each squad were assigned to the position. That marine was issued an accurized optically sighted weapon and given the secondary task of engaging targets inside the marksmanship gap mentioned above. To keep commonality and functionality as a regular rifleman in the squad the decision was made to keep the SAM assigned with a 5.56mm weapon. As such Marine SAMs are almost always issued standard M855 ball ammunition instead of the more advanced specialized open tipped match ammo that is fired by the Army’s SDMs.

The Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle

With the advent of the DM in the Marine Corps a dedicated weapon had to be provided. On the platoon level before 2002 there were no scoped rifles in the Marines. This was soon to change with one to be provided for each of the platoon’s squads. East coast marine infantry battalions (those of the II MEF) were given 100 new M16A4s were rebuilt by hand by the armorers of the Precision Weapons Section of the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico VA. These weapons were M16A3 rifles that were made more accurate with the installation of a match two stage trigger and a 20 inch stainless steel match barrel with a 1 in 7 twist. They were mounted with a commercially available Leupold 3-9x36mm scope. West coast based marines (those of the I MEF) were simply supplied with standard off the rack M16A4s that had been found to shoot good groups and were modified with the 4 power TA31 ACOG scopes and given a Harris bipod. The latter method was often used by the US Army for its SDM program as well.

Marines assigned to Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Teams (FAST) who’s bread and butter is reinforcing overseas bases and embassies in times of elevated threats, also have non-sniper designated marksmen. These men are issued larger caliber weapons (M-14 DMRs for example) than the squad designated marksmen and are typically assigned over watch positions on rooftops. While many are graduates of advanced marksmanship schools they are not seen as actual snipers or awarded the Marine scout-sniper MOS.

In 2004 the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) field tested the Knight SR-25, a 7.62x51mm model of the AR-15HB for use as the new Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R). While not approved for the SAM-R the SR-25, dubbed the Mk 11 Mod 0 Sniper Weapon System, was chosen to replace the venerable M-40 bolt action weapon used by traditional Marine scout-snipers. In 2007 the USMC decided on the Mk 12 rifle to be its new SAM-R. The Mk 12 is an accurized weapon similar to the original Quantico SAM-R. The rifle uses an 18 inch match barrel with a 1 in 7 twist married to a lower stock lower incorporating a two-stage Knight trigger. A bipod and Leupold scope rounds out the package. The Mk 12 began active service with the II MEF in October 2007.

Sources

Halberstadt, Hans, Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper McMillian 2008

Fox, Sharon E CPL USMC Anti-Terrorism unit evaluates rifle DOD news release Story Identification #: 20044810498

Lyttle, Chris CPL II MEF Marines Receive Training on New Rifle, October 10, 2007. Story identification number 20071010193659

Bartocci, Black Rifle II: The M16 into the 21st Century. Collector Grade Publications 2004

The copyright of the article USMC Marine Squad Advanced Marksman in Modern War is owned by Christopher Eger. Permission to republish USMC Marine Squad Advanced Marksman in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.