QUALIFIED IS NOT PROFICIENT: WHY MILITARY MARKSMANSHIP MUST MOVE BEYOND THE RANGE SCORE
A Soldier can pass a weapons qualification and still lack true marksmanship proficiency.
That should not be controversial.
A qualification proves that a Soldier met a prescribed standard under specific conditions at a specific moment.
It does not automatically prove mastery, retention, adaptability, or performance under pressure.
The target does not care what the qualification card says.
The U.S. Army has already identified this problem.
In the 2024 article Enhancing Soldier Proficiency: Addressing Inefficiencies in Army Training, 1st Sgt. Alexander Roysden of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit examined weaknesses in marksmanship education and emphasized deliberate, progressive training rather than allowing qualification to become the primary training event.
Read the original U.S. Army article
QUALIFICATION SHOULD MEASURE TRAINING — NOT BECOME THE TRAINING
The Army article reported an evaluation of 838 Soldiers in which only 7.6% achieved at least 80% on a preliminary marksmanship evaluation.
That raises an uncomfortable question:
If a Soldier can reach the qualification range without fully understanding fundamental marksmanship, what exactly are we measuring?
Going to the range is not the same as being trained.
More ammunition does not automatically correct poor biomechanics, inefficient recoil management, improper visual processing, unnecessary muscular tension, or weak trigger control.
Sometimes more ammunition simply creates more repetitions of the same mistake.
Army doctrine already supports progressive development through preliminary instruction, drills, simulation, live-fire practice, and finally qualification.
The principle is simple:
Develop the skill first. Validate it later.
THE MOST COMPLEX PART OF THE WEAPON SYSTEM IS HUMAN
Military firearms programs invest heavily in rifles, optics, lasers, ammunition, night vision, and supporting technology.
But the most complicated component of the system remains the person behind the weapon.
The eyes.
The brain.
The nervous system.
The skeletal structure.
The muscles.
The perception and decision-making process.
This is where The Science of Marksmanship becomes relevant.
Traditional firearms instruction frequently teaches shooters what to do.
Grip here.
Mount the rifle here.
Press the trigger this way.
Control recoil this way.
But professional instruction should go further.
An instructor should also understand:
Why does it work?
Why does it fail?
What is happening biomechanically and neurologically?
What changes when the shooter, weapon, optic, position, distance, or environment changes?
That is the difference between memorizing technique and understanding performance.
Explore The Science of Marksmanship
YOU CANNOT COACH WHAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND
A shooter misses.
The instructor says:
“Trigger control.”
Why?
“Anticipation.”
Why?
“Bad grip.”
Maybe.
But maybe not.
Was the firearm disturbed before ignition?
Was muscular pressure asymmetric?
Was the shooter visually correcting the sights during trigger movement?
Was the firing position biomechanically inefficient?
Was unnecessary tension being introduced?
Was the instructor diagnosing the shooter—or simply diagnosing the holes in the target?
Those are different problems.
Different problems require different corrections.
A good shooter may demonstrate technique. A professional instructor must diagnose performance.
That distinction becomes extremely important when training Soldiers, law-enforcement officers, and professional firearms instructors.
BETTER TRAINING PRODUCES BETTER PERFORMANCE
The Army article highlighted a progressive marksmanship program used with Texas A&M ROTC cadets.
The program emphasized fundamentals, dry practice, simulation, coaching, progressive skill development, and deliberate live-fire application.
The article reported an average 11-point improvement in marksmanship scores.
That result reinforces a basic principle:
PERFORMANCE CHANGES WHEN TRAINING CHANGES.
The solution was not simply firing more ammunition.
It was better instruction, better progression, better feedback, and better use of training resources.
That matters because ammunition is expensive, range time is limited, and military training calendars are already crowded.
The answer cannot always be:
Shoot more.
Sometimes the better answer is:
Teach better. Diagnose earlier. Practice smarter. Measure improvement. Then validate.
STRESS DOES NOT CREATE SKILL
Combat does not guarantee the same position, lighting, distance, target presentation, timing, or environmental conditions found on a qualification range.
Skill must transfer.
The Soldier may have to perform while fatigued, moving, processing information, managing equipment, communicating, and making decisions.
Stress does not magically manufacture ability.
It exposes what training actually developed.
Pressure reveals the quality of preparation.
That is why military marksmanship should be approached as a human-performance discipline—not simply a shooting exercise.
BETTER EQUIPMENT DOES NOT FIX BAD TRAINING
The United States fields some of the most advanced small arms, optics, night-vision systems, and supporting technology in the world.
But equipment remains a multiplier.
A highly trained Soldier with better technology becomes more capable.
A poorly developed shooter with better technology simply becomes better equipped.
A better optic does not replace visual training.
A better rifle does not replace recoil management.
A better trigger does not replace trigger control.
More ammunition does not replace competent coaching.
Technology matters.
The Soldier operating it matters more.
WHERE VALORTEC AND THE SCIENCE OF MARKSMANSHIP FIT
Valortec approaches professional firearms education through a simple concept:
Treat marksmanship as human performance.
The Science of Marksmanship framework examines shooting through biomechanics, neuromuscular control, visual processing, motor learning, recoil management, stress physiology, physics, and performance diagnosis.
The objective is not to replace military doctrine.
It is to strengthen the understanding underneath it.
Doctrine explains what must be accomplished. Science helps explain why human performance succeeds or fails while accomplishing it.
Professional marksmanship training needs both.
Valortec’s science-driven methodology is designed for instructors, law-enforcement personnel, military professionals, security professionals, and serious shooters seeking a deeper understanding of performance beyond simply repeating techniques.
Explore Valortec Science-Based Marksmanship Training
Valortec is an independent training organization and is not presented as being endorsed by the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.
THE REAL FORCE MULTIPLIER IS THE INSTRUCTOR
One highly competent instructor can influence hundreds of shooters.
An instructor who understands performance can identify deficiencies faster, prescribe better corrective training, reduce wasted ammunition, improve training efficiency, and develop additional instructors.
That creates organizational impact far beyond one firing line.
The goal should not simply be producing more people authorized to teach.
The goal should be producing instructors capable of identifying why performance is failing and how to correct it.
That requires more than experience.
It requires knowledge.
It requires coaching ability.
It requires understanding the firearm.
And most importantly, it requires understanding the human being operating it.
A PASSING SCORE IS THE FLOOR — NOT THE CEILING
Qualification matters.
Standards matter.
Doctrine matters.
But qualification should never be confused with the final objective.
The objective is proficiency.
A Soldier should be able to understand the weapon, apply sound fundamentals, adapt to changing conditions, retain the skill, identify performance problems, and execute when circumstances become less predictable.
That requires moving beyond tradition for tradition’s sake.
Beyond round counts.
Beyond check-the-box training.
Beyond the assumption that passing means finished.
The Army has already demonstrated that deliberate, progressive marksmanship training can improve performance.
The next evolution is understanding the human system producing the shot.
That is where biomechanics matters.
That is where visual science matters.
That is where motor learning matters.
That is where instructor development matters.
And that is where The Science of Marksmanship and Valortec’s science-driven training philosophy can contribute to the continuing evolution of professional marksmanship education.
Because the question should never stop at:
“Did the Soldier qualify?”
The more important question is:
“CAN THE SOLDIER ACTUALLY PERFORM?”
Those are not always the same thing.
And when national defense is involved, the difference matters.
Train Often. Train Smart. Train Proudly.
