
Basilone. Camp Basilone itself sprawled over more than eighty thousand square kilometers, which was
far more space than was required for the headquarters of a Fleet Marine Force and its attendant units.
But Camp Basilone was also home to the Marine Corps Combat Development Center, where new
tactics and most Marine-specific weapons and equipment were developed and tested—when six or
seven FISTs assembled to run war games together, or in opposition to each other, they needed
prodigious amounts of space to play in. Terrain and weather were also a consideration, and Camp
Basilone provided a full range from semitropical swamp through desert, temperate forest, and savannah,
all the way to alpine. The installation also included several built-up areas, ranging from rural villages to a
mock-up of a major metropolis—every one of which could be used for live-fire training for the full
panoply of Marine Corps weapons.
Camp Hathcock was the smallest of the “camps” that made up Camp Basilone, only five kilometers
deep by ten wide, backed up against the Veridian Ocean, but its area of influence via firepower was far
larger: Air and sea craft were banned for a distance five kilometers to its sides and twenty kilometers
beyond the shore.
Warrant Officer Jaqua, Fourth Force Recon Company’s training officer and range master, was ready for
the platoon’s recon squads when they reached the range. Masers slung over their shoulders, Staff
Sergeant Athon and his sniper squad stood in a rank behind him.
The four squads of second platoon available for that training evolution formed up in front of the company
training officer the same as they had for morning formation behind the barracks.
Jaqua stood, hands clasped behind his back, casually looking them over. “I know,” he said before his
inspection could make anybody uncomfortable, “that most of you have already done orientation firing of
various sniper weapons. A couple of you have even fired all of them. But not one of you has fired any of
them for qualification. We are going to spend the next two weeks correcting that deficiency.”
Jaqua could say “deficency” without giving offense; in addition to his Distinguished Blasterman and
hand-blaster Expert badges, his chest bore the uncommon Expert Sniper badge with the scarlet pips that
indicated he’d qualified at that level with all three of the sniper-specific weapons.
“We aren’t going to overwhelm you with firing all of our weapons at once; we only have two weeks, and
that’s barely long enough to familiarize you with them. Instead, we will spend the first week concentrating
on learning the maser. On Frigaday, you will fire the maser on the qualification range. Next week you will
spend four days firing the mid-range projectile rifle and the long-range sabot. Next Frigaday, if you feel
sufficiently comfortable with either of them, you will fire it for qualification.”
He raised a hand to stop the groans of protest he expected and quickly added, “If you qualify with any
of these weapons, that qualification will be entered in your Service Record Book and you will be
authorized to wear the appropriate badge. If you fail to qualify with any weapon you fire for qualification,
that failure willnot be entered into your service record. There is no requirement in the Basic Reconman
MOS for qualification with sniper weapons, so it wouldn’t be fair to officially note any failure to do so.
But qualifying with additional weapons will look good in your record.”
He smiled. “Besides, some of you might decide you like firing sniper weapons and want to apply for
sniper school. Force Recon can always use new snipers who have prior experience as reconmen.
“Now, I’ll hand you over to Staff Sergeant Athon and his snipers for basic orientation.” He made an
about-face. “Staff Sergeant Athon, front and center!”