A note from our Primary Instructor
“A number of years after I was medically retired from the USMC, having served as a Primary Marksmanship Instructor and Armorer, a Vietnam-veteran asked me to teach his grandson, a poolee for the USMC, how to shoot. So I did. I taught him enough to be a rifle coach (MOS 0933) before he went to recruit training. He shot company high in boot camp and was promoted ahead of his peers.
When someone commits to being in the military, it’s stressful. There is this large volume of knowledge you are expected to learn and you are leaving your family, your support system. Your life is completely about to change: 100%. I have these skills that the military instilled in me, as an instructor, and I want to pass them on…selectively. I recognize the challenges facing military trainees, regardless of enlisted or officer. I think it would be great to give these trainees a competitive advantage; a leg-up, if you will. Progressively introduce them to the AR platform, the different optics, positions, etc. Teach them to shoot in their combat gear. Teach them a stressful skill in-advance. They will still have a lot to learn, but I can help give them a jump-start.
I’ve done it before, and I’d really like to keep doing it. And I’d like to do so at no cost to the trainee. Hence the idea of starting Leatherneck Marksmanship as a non-profit. And why we’re asking for your support.
Semper Fidelis,”
Michael J Chiolero
SSgt, USMC, Retired
