Thursday, September 6, 1984/The Battalion/Page 3
Marines here to show weapons
of the corps marksmanship unit
Photo by PETER ROCHA
Sgt. James Ferguson, a scout sniper with the USMC, answers
questions in the Memorial Student Center Wednesday af
ternoon.
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Staff Writer
The U.S. Marine Corps
Marksmanship Training Unit,
which holds shooting contests to
help train Marines in
marksmanship, will be at the Me
morial Student Center through
the end of this week to answer
questions about its weapons dis-
play.
For more than 40 years, the
unit has been responsible for es
tablishing marksmanship policies
and techniques for the marines.
Based in Quantico, Va., it also de
velops and refines the mech
anisms of the weapons the ma
rines use.
The U.S. Marine Corps Re
cruiting Station in Houston,
which is responsible for recruit
ing in College Station, invited the
unit to set up the 50-gun display
here. The Marines arrived here-
Wednesday morning, and offi
cers will man the display Thurs
day and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Camouflaged in leaves and
face paint, Sgt. James Ferguson
will be on hand to explain how a
scout sniper “surgically implants”
a bullet.
A Marine for six years, Fergu
son is “highly trained in fieldcraft
observation, camouflage and
marksmanship,” skills he has
taught for four years at the Ma
rines’ sniper school.
“(Snipers) are used to reduce
selected key targets,” Ferguson
said Wednesday. “We’re not bad
people, or murderous individu
als. We’re just like anybody else.”
Snipers must be able to hit a
stationary target at 1,000 yards
and a moving target at 800 yards,
he said. They work in teams of
two — one spotting, the other
shooting — and a sniper “selects a
target on his own terms,” Fergu
son said.
“Don’t compromise,” he said.
“Let the average guy go by.”
Ferguson said a sniper’s first
shot should, ideally, disable the
enemy’s radio, the second, the ra
dio man, and the third, the pla
toon leader.
At the risk of giving his posi
tion away to the enemy, a sniper
should never fire more than
three rounds from the same spot,
he said. Marine scout snipers use
the M40A1 sniper rifle in execut
ing their missions.
“We have the distinction of be
ing the only service that has de
veloped, built and maintained
our own sniper rifle,” said Chief
Warrant Of ficer Gene Baker.
Prior to 1978, the military serv
ices used the M14A1 rifle. Baker
said, which lost accuracy over
time because moisture in the air
shrunk its wooden stock.
In 1978, the marines devel
oped the M40A1 sniper rifle
from a commercial Remington ri
fle. The M40’s stock is fiberglass,
which won’t shrink. It has a rust
discouraging stainless steel barrel
which allows for less recoil be-
Sgt. James Ferguson:
“(Snipers) are used to re
duce selected key targets,
We’re not bad people, or
m urderous individuals.
We’re just like anybody el
se. ”
cause it is heavier.
“Currently all (military) serv
ices are trying to buy this from
us,” Baker said.
He said 25 of the training
unit’s 180 members travel to Ma
rine bases around the world (ex
cluding F.urope) to gather ideas
on weapon improvement and to
instruct Marines on
marksmanship. Other ideas come
from commercial industry and
various organizations, such as the
American Defense Preparedness
Association, Baker said.
Master Sgt. Gary Gregory, who
drafts the weapons the training
unit develops and who helped de
sign the M40, said interactionfct
the Marines’ shooting matches
provide ideas for improving a
weapon’s inner-workings.
The unit holds four, month
long division matches to train Ma
rines in advanced marksmanship.
These are held in Japan, Ha
waii, California and North Caro
lina, where Marines follow a week
of instruction with three weeks of
shooting practice.
The winners of each match —
the top 10 percent of those who
participated — continue to other
matches within the Marine Corps.
National championships which
are held once a year in Ohio.
Living with roommates
requires adjustments
By ADA FAY WOOD
Reporter
Adjusting to living with a room
mate can be as much of a learning
process for college students as re
quired classes. However, the Depart
ment of Student Affairs has made
the process a little bit easier by offer
ing several ways to deal with this new
style of living.
“Spend time getting to know your
roommate,” counselor Stephen Liter
said.
Lack of communication is the root
of many or all of the problems that
occur between roommates, Liter
said. Students should discuss likes
and dislikes and then lay out ground
rules to follow.
Begin the semester by discussing
important topics with your room
mate, Liter said, and always be will
ing to compromise. If there are po
tential or real problems they need to
be dealt with immediately.
Especially for freshmen, living
with a roommate for the first time
could be a difficult adjustment.
“Freshmen are dealing with tran
sition into a new atmosphere,” Liter
said. This transition can cause prob
lems. For example, newly felt inde
pendence can lead to forgetfulness;
students with early classes often can
be very noisy to a sleeping roommate
who has late classes, he said.
If the problems aren’t confronted
they can affect other people, and
this creates a bigger problem, Liter
said.
If students can’t work the prob
lems out alone, the dormitory resi
dent advisers are available for help.
The Student Counseling Service on
the third floor of the YMCA Build
ing is another place to go for help.
Karmen Hinch, a resident adviser
in Briggs Dorm, said the problems
that have already arisen this semes
ter include roommates who are
messy and those who are inconsider
ate.
A roommate tenancy contract is
available at the Off-Campus Center.
The contract allows roommates to
list all obligations and habits before
hand.
“Don’t ruin your whole semester,”
Liter said. “Talk about it!”
Students encouraged
to register for voting
By KATHICOOK
Reporter
As politicians begin to trek down
the campaign trails, many people
who normally wouldn’t be interested
in politics suddenly are. But one step
is necessary to participate, and it is a
simple one — registration.
Anyone who is 18 years old by
election day and is a U.S. citizen
without a felony record is eligible to
vole if they are registered 30 days
prior to the election date, Gerald
Winn, tax assessor/collector of Bra
zos County, said.
“We’ve tried to make applications
available everywhere we can,” Winn
said, “they’re on campus, in several
banks, or in my office in the court
house.”
Applications now are available at
the Memorial Student Center hotel
desk, the visitor information center,
and the Admissions and Records Of
fice.
Winn said he has sworn-in volun
teer deputy registrars who now are
eligible to solicit voters to register.
“There are several independent
groups holding voter drives — like
the Democratic parties and Republi
can parties on campus,” Winn said.
Winn said the presidential elec
tion and the special congressional
elections of Phil Gramm, Richard
Smith and Neeley Lewis have cre
ated the increased interest in voting
this year.
More than 5,000 students en
rolled at Texas A&M are registered
to vote in Brazos County, Winn said.
With a constant student turnover,
several names are purged from the
voter file every two years. At the be
ginning of the year, the tax assessor-
/collector’s office sends each regis
tered voter a new registration card.
If it is not returned, the voter’s name
is placed on a strike list from March
1 to Aug. 15 unless the voter re-reg-
isters with his new address.,
If you choose to remain registered
in the county of yout permanent res
idence, to vote absentee you should
contact your county clerk or election
administrator 24 days prior and up
to four days before the election day
to receive a ballot.
Even with easy access to applica
tions and a re-registration sent to the
voter, some citizens do not register
to avoid jury duty, Winn said.
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Help Wanted
The Battalion is taking Applications
for Photographers and Editorial
Cartoonists
Apply in 216 Reed McDonald
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