Army Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge, US Made Black Subdued Metal Supply

Army Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge, US Made Black Subdued Metal
Army Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge (1542)

* The Army Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge is the first badge an individual obtains in the Army Weapons Qualification Course. 
* The first phase of the course goes through various tests, such as disassembling and reassembling a weapon, breathing control, and being able to hit 23 to 29 out of 40 targets.
* Subdued Black Finish
* Made In USA
* Dimensions 1 in
* Cross Patee
* 2 Rings at the bottom to attach a bar naming the weapon which the recipient is qualified with.
* US Army
* Milspec

What is the United States Army Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge?

Criteria: Awarded in three grades (in ascending order): Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert, the Army Weapons Qualification Badge is issued to soldiers upon completion of a weapons qualification course. Suspended from the badge are qualification bars that indicate the specific weapon(s) in which the soldier has qualified. Only three marksmanship badges are authorized for wear at one time and each may only have up to three qualification bars.

Army marksmanship qualification badges are not permanent awards. Each soldier must re-qualify every 12 months with the same weapon and at the same level in order to continue to wear a specific marksmanship badge and qualification bar. If a soldier does not re-qualify within 12 months, the badge and/or qualification bar is no longer authorized for wear.

In the United States (U.S.), a marksmanship badge is a U.S. military badge or a civilian badge which is presented to personnel upon successful completion of a weapons qualification course (known as marksmanship qualification badges) or high achievement in an official marksmanship competition (known as marksmanship competition badges). Today, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps are the only military services that issue marksmanship qualification badges. However, marksmanship medals and/or marksmanship ribbons are issued by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Air Force for weapons qualifications. For non-military personnel, different U.S. law enforcement organizations and the National Rifle Association (NRA) issue marksmanship qualification badges to those involved in law enforcement. Additionally, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and the NRA issue marksmanship qualification badges to U.S. civilians. Most of these organizations and the U.S. National Guard awarded marksmanship competition badges to the people they support who succeed in official competitions.

The U.S. Army issues their marksmanship qualification badges for a variety of weapons while the U.S. Marine Corps only issues theirs for the service rifle and service pistol. For civilians, the CMP issues the Army Marksmanship Qualification Badges for rifle, small bore rifle, pistol, and small bore pistol as well as its own air rifle badges. Of those U.S. law enforcement organizations that issue marksmanship qualification badges, most issue them for their service pistols while others will also issue them for rifle and/or shotgun. The NRA issues marksmanship qualification badges for air rifles, rifles, pistols, and shotguns; however the NRA focuses on different rifles and pistols than the CMP. For marksmanship competition badges, the U.S. military award rifle and pistol competition badges; however, the U.S. National Guard also award marksmanship competition badges for machine gun and sniper rifle. The CMP awards marksmanship competition badges for air rifle, rifle, pistol, and .22 rimfire pistol while the NRA awards them for air rifle, small bore rifle, revolver, and semi-automatic pistol.

The U.S. military and CMP marksmanship qualification badges are awarded in three grades (highest to lowest): expert, sharpshooter, and marksman while their marksmanship competition badges are awarded in three to four grades (highest to lowest): distinguished, silver, and bronze for the U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. civilians; distinguished, gold, silver, and bronze for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps; and distinguished, silver with wreath, bronze with wreath, and bronze for the U.S. Air Force. The NRA marksmanship qualification badges are awarded in five to six grades (highest to lowest): distinguished expert, expert, sharpshooter, marksman first-class (Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program only), marksman, and pro-marksman. U.S. law enforcement marksmanship qualification badges tent to follow NRA guidelines for marksmanship qualification badges or have their own criteria and badge structure. The NRA and the U.S. National Guard marksmanship competition badges are only awarded at one grade with the exception of the NRA’s Law Enforcement Distinguished Program, which awards a Law Enforcement Excellence-in-Competition Badge for those officers who earn their first points towards one of the law enforcement distinguished badges.

The U.S. Army award Army Marksmanship Qualification Badges to their Soldiers, U.S. Army uniformed civilian guards, and foreign military personnel, while the CMP awards these same badges to U.S. civilians who qualify at three different qualification levels (highest to lowest): expert, sharpshooter, and marksman. Suspended from the badge are Army Weapon Qualification Clasps that indicate the type of weapon the individual has qualified to use. The following list of Army Weapon Qualification Clasps are currently authorized under U.S. Army Pamphlet 670-1:

Current Weapon Qualification Clasps (listed with exact inscription)
RIFLE – MACHINE GUN, SUB-MACHINE GUN,  RECOIL-LESS RIFLE, SMALL BORE RIFLE.
PISTOL – FIELD ARTILLERY,  ROCKET LAUNCHER,  MORTAR, MISSILE.
AA ARTILLERY – TANK WEAPONS, GRENADE, BAYONET , AERO WEAPONS.
AUTO RIFLE – FLAMETHROWER, CARBINE, SMALL BORE PISTOL.