Speed & accuracy together at scale

USMC Infantry Marksmanship Assessment (IMA)

Customer

USMC Schools of Infantry

  • Overcome combat Marksmanship deficiencies

  • Score 400+ Marines/day measuring time and accuracy

  • Feed that data, at scale, back into training and doctrine

  • expand from the training pipeline to the entire fleet

OBJECTIVE

How do you Fix COMBAT marksmanship for 100,000 shooters with a 60% turnover every 4 years?

The Marines faced a dilemma: a 2018 assessment had found serious deficiencies in their combat marksmanship in situations requiring fast hits (CQB), longer engagements (200 to 300 yds), and also moving targets.

To address these deficiencies, they formed a partnership of USMC Infantry subject matter experts, Office of Navy human science experts, and Scoring Tech. This collaboration came up with a plan and executed a process that we now utilize with all our customers.

In order to score the IMA, Scoring Tech developed the Joint Marksmanship Assessment Package (JMAP) app under direction of the Office of Naval Research and the Weapons Training Battalion. The JMAP app allows Marine instructors to capture shot times, target images, and scores for each Marine. Utilizing JMAP, Scoring Tech used the following process to meet its objectives:

IMPLEMENTATION

  1. Designed an assessment reflecting the mission and enemy capabilities: the Infantry Marksmanship Assessment. The IMA is a 5-stage assessment going from zeroing at 100 yards and timed engagements from 3 yards to 300 on human lethal zone sized targets. Every shot is timed, every hit recorded.

  2. Scaled up so that all Marines entering service (officer or enlisted) are tested this way and trained to do well on a test using time and accuracy together.

  3. Used the large scale data to design ongoing improvements to training (with assistance from Scoring Tech and others).

  4. Built a lethality dashboard for all units so command and units know where everybody stands and what they can do to become more lethal with their rifle.

After implementing the IMA and using JMAP to provide real-time performance data, lethality dramatically improved, beating all of the original deficiencies found. Scoring Tech now continues to take this to the fleet for sustaining past initial training.

JMAP kits (consisting of bluetooth shot timers, scoring devices, and supporting hardware) were successfully deployed on both coasts to the Schools of Infantry. Those kits are now used by Marines each week to time and score hundreds of infantrymen.

Marine Corps leadership now looks to the Insights app to get an in depth view of company, platoon, and squad-level performance. This information empowers them to make objective decisions regarding future training, such as selecting marksmanship training approaches and determining performance standards.

OUTCOME