Schutzenschnur

On 9 July Charlie Company and the Germans of Multinational Brigade Southeast conducted a Schutzenschnur marksmanship event.

The Schutzenschnur braid is one of the few foreign military awards authorized for wear on the US Army uniform. The history of the award:

Marksmanship was an important skill for a border guard and for obvious reasons. Once placed on border duty the East German government expected these skills to be utilized to stop an escape over the border. Failure to hit an escapee could have resulted in arrest or disciplinary action. Hitting a escaping traitor resulted in commendations and time off. from duty. So, as part of their training a Grenztruppen conscript was required to hit two moving targets at 200 meters with only four shots under both day and night time conditions.
To distinguish the different levels of shooting proficiency, the Grenztruppen had three levels of achievement similar to the U.S. military's Marksman, Sharphooter, and Expert ratings. To signify marksmanship qualification a border guard was awarded a cord and badge known as the Schutzenschnur. Awarded to the Grenztruppen since 1957, these badges were worn on the dress uniform and were also awarded to the naval border guards of the Coastal Border Brigade

Firing on the range:


1SG Conover and SSG Strange with one of the German weapons:




Medical support on the range:


Range control: