{"id":116316,"date":"2018-01-22T23:18:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T23:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/22\/modernizing-infantry-marines-big-changes-coming-as-grunts-take-on-more-special-ops-style-missions\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:06:46","slug":"modernizing-infantry-marines-big-changes-coming-as-grunts-take-on-more-special-ops-style-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2018\/01\/22\/modernizing-infantry-marines-big-changes-coming-as-grunts-take-on-more-special-ops-style-missions\/","title":{"rendered":"Modernizing infantry Marines: Big changes coming as grunts take on more special ops-style missions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Corps is on a major push to overhaul how its fundamental basic unit operates in battle \u2014 providing grunts with modernized equipment and new roles and responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After nearly 17 years of fighting in \u00adwar-torn regions like Iraq and \u00adAfghanistan, the development comes as the lines between conventional infantry forces and America\u2019s elite special operators have \u00adincreasingly blurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late December, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters that conventional forces would start assuming greater roles in mission sets that were once the purview of special operations forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, that\u2019s already happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conventional forces and special operators have been working side by side in places like Iraq and Syria. For example, in Syria, a small group of roughly 400 Marines deployed last year to back Syrian Democratic Forces fighting \u00adIslamic State militants, providing 24-hour artillery and fires support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Afghanistan, a small detachment of 300 Marines known as Task Force Southwest deployed last year to advise Afghan security forces in the volatile Helmand province \u2014 a mission set historically assigned to special operations forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And small teams of Marines are now frequently deployed to Africa for \u00adshort-term missions to operate in a region that has in the past been handled by special operations troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support those missions, the Corps has a new bag of goodies coming for its most fundamental Marines: the infantrymen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M38 and M27<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corps is starting to designate one Marine in each infantry squad as a \u201cmarksman\u201d and providing that Marine with an M38 rifle, the marksmanship version of the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M38 is \u201cthe squad-designated marksman rifle which will allow Marine infantryman to engage targets at 300-600 meters,\u201d said Barbara \u00adHamby, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Systems Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M38 was borne out of lessons learned over the course of 17 years of fighting in places like Iraq and \u00adAfghanistan, according to Marine \u00adGunner Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joel Schwendinger. Marines \u00adneeded to be able to effectively identify and engage targets up to 600 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IAR was a good fit to transition into a designated marksman rifle because of its accuracy and long-range precision. Much of the testing and evaluation done with the IAR over the past several years carried over to the M38.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marksman will be a new role for infantry Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will preferably be the best marksman in the squad, Schwendinger said, but it will not be a trained sniper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no new certifications or specialized training for Marines to carry the M38, he said. But the designated marksman in the group will need to maintain proficiency on the M38, as outlined in the Infantry Training and Readiness Manual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is the responsibility of the infantry unit commanders to train Marines assigned the M38 according to the tasks within the manual,\u201d Schwendinger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To maintain that proficiency Marines will have to qualify with the M38 firing the rifle with an Mk 4 Leopold scoped optic and a night shoot with night vision and an infrared aiming device such as an AN\/PEQ-15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Leopold scope, Marines will have to hit eight out of 10 targets at \u00addistances from 100-600 yards, demonstrating 80 percent accuracy. With the night vision and IR lasers, Marines need to hit 12 out of 15 targets from 300 to 600 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M38 is being issued to operational forces and full operational capability is planned for the fall of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Corps is starting to designate one \u00adMarine in each infantry squad as a \u201cmarksman\u201d and providing that Marine with an M38 rifle. (Lance Cpl. Michaela Gregory\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the rest of the grunts in the infantry squad will soon be \u00adgetting new M27 IARs to replace their M4 carbines. Every Marine in an infantry squad will soon be getting the M27, Chris Woodburn, deputy of the Maneuver Branch, Fires and Maneuver Integration at Marine Corps Combat \u00adDevelopment Command, told Marine Corps Times in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IAR was considered to be a \u00adpotential replacement to the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, but its \u00adaccuracy and long-range precision made it a potential candidate to replace the M4. The weapon is lighter than the SAW, but only boasts a 30 round magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not every Marine will get the costly IAR, which packs a whopping price tag of nearly $3,000 per rifle, meaning the M4 is not going away anytime soon. Officials at Marine Corps Systems Command are still actively working on ways to improve on the M4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laser range finder<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marine Corps plans to field new rifle-mounted laser range finders that will boost lethality of infantry squads by enabling squad leaders to call in air and artillery strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, the Marines selected the \u00adIntegrated Compact Ultralight Gun-mounted Rangefinder, or I-CUGR, manufactured by Safran Optics 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new tech will push more \u00adresponsibility down to the infantry squad and allow for much more rapid strike capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the new device, \u201ca squad leader with accurate range data can quickly assign the appropriate force to eliminate threats,\u201d Chief Warrant Officer Five Mark R. Salmons, a Marine gunner, previously told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a huge time savings that \u00adresults in a higher probability of first round effects on target,\u201d Salmons said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The range finder can pinpoint targets up to 1,500 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corps has procured just over 300 devices, with another 1,500 on the way sometime in early 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thermal night vision<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marines also are interested in overhauling night vision devices \u00adcurrently carried by grunts. As commercially available night vision technology has proliferated to enemy fighters, U.S. troops are slowly losing their edge in nighttime battlefield supremacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To bridge the gap, the Corps in December asked the defense industry to provide information about \u00adhelmet-mounted or hand-carried \u00addevices that include both night vision and thermal capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Marine Corps Systems \u00adCommand is currently in the process of \u00adfielding the AN\/PAS-29A with explosive ordnance disposal Marines. The new device is a clip-on thermal imager for night vision devices, Hamby told \u00adMarine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MARCORSYSCOM may field a similar device for the infantry, but will also \u00adconsider a hand-held system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New optics<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M38 and M27 will operate different optics, and the Corps is in search of a new day-powered optic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marines who are issued the new marksman rifle will carry the Mk 4 Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 2.5-8x36mm, which packs a much higher magnification than the standard 3.5- powered advanced combat optical gunsight that is currently mounted to the IAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that standard IAR optic may also soon be updated for the entire infantry squad. The Corps put out a request for information back in August for a \u201csquad common optic.\u201d That optic will be a variable-powered day optic, Hamby told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marines want a new optic that can range targets from 600 to potentially 900 meters, and weigh under 2.1 lbs., \u00adaccording to the Marine Corps \u00adrequest for information from the \u00addefense industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ops-core helmets,<\/b> Lighter armor<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumors have been buzzing since July, when images from 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division showed grunts kitted out in new tactical vests, headsets and Ops-Core helmets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The helmets are popular with \u00adspecial operators because they feature a rail mount system on the side and a distinct design that can comfortably fit large noise-canceling headsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\t