This is the standard of the Marine Corps' legendary marksmanship tradition.

The Weapons & Field Training Battalion, led by Colonel Daniel H. Wilson and Sergeant Major Michael Lane, conducts entry level Marksmanship Training, annual re-qualification training in rifle and pistol for the Tri-Command area, Basic Warrior Training, and executes the culminating event of recruit training, The Crucible.

In phase two of recruit training, recruits receive formal instruction and hone the skills necessary to maintain and accurately fire the M16A2 Service Rifle on four live fire ranges. Each range is supervised by approximately 40 Marines especially trained as marksman who have completed a demanding course of instruction to provide the highest caliber of weapons training in the world.

In phase two and three of recruit training,  Marines from Field Training Company teach recruits the fundamentals of living in the field and surviving and winning on the modern battlefield, to include chemical, nuclear, radiological, and biological defense.  These duty experts have honed their skills through a unique blend of classroom instruction and hands on experience leading Marines in the Operating Forces.

In the late 1980’s under the direction of General Gray, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, recruit training was modified to include more combat oriented instruction.  This additional training added one week to Boot Camp to teach field firing of several individual weapon systems and included individual combat skills and defensive tactics.  Consequently, Weapons Training Battalion was re-designated as Weapons and Field Training Battalion. In 1996, the 31st Commandant, General Krulak, revised recruit training once again to make room for the 54-hour, exhaustive field exercise known as The Crucible.

With the experiences gained during OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM,  new training initiatives continue to evolve entry level training in order to better prepare today’s recruits for the challenges of modern warfare.