Edson Range is a

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by militar ...

complex at

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

, near Oceanside,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is named for Marine Major General "Red Mike" Edson, "a World War II Medal of Honor recipient and a distinguished small arms marksman proponent." This rifle-qualification complex is home to four of the largest firing ranges on the base. The range became operational on August 21, 1964, the same day that Camp Calvin B. Matthews, in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, California, was closed and turned over to the University of California. Camp Matthews had previously been used for rifle training. While located at Camp Pendleton, Edson Range is organized as an annex of the MCRD ( Marine Corps Recruit Depot), in San Diego and serves as the rifle qualification range where Marine recruits receive field and rifle training during boot camp. Two weeks of marksmanship training followed by one week of infantry field skills take place at Edson Range, which is known as "up north" by recruits and drill instructors alike (the Recruit Depot in San Diego being "down south"). The

Crucible A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...

, a three to four day combat simulation with little food or sleep, also takes place here. Edson Range is also home to the "Swift Intruders", the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

's Assault Craft Unit 5 who operate the

Landing Craft Air Cushion The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from sh ...

(LCAC), and train on the Edson Range beaches and the adjacent

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. Bravo range is famous for being the range Lee Harvey Oswald shot on when he was a Marine.

Recruit live fire training

Marine recruits undertake two different courses of fire while learning how to use the M16 series rifle. During their first week of weapons training (known as Grass Week), recruits learn in a classroom setting with instruction coming from a PMI (Primary Marksmanship Instructor). On the second week (known as Firing Week), recruits will go to one of the three KD (known distance) ranges to fire Table 1A, their first course of fire. The three live fire ranges aboard Edson Range where Table 1 is fired are the "world famous" Bravo Range, Charlie Range, and Delta Range. The week after qualifying on Table 1 is spent on Alpha Range where the recruits will fire Table 2, which is the introduction to the Marine Corps' Combat Marksmanship Program.

References

External links

Camp Pendleton History
* United States Marine Corps installations {{USMC-stub

Recruit live fire training

See also

References

External links