<Li> According to one of the "Commandant's White letters" from Commandant Alfred M. Gray, Jr., referring to a Marine by their last earned rank is appropriate . </Li> <P> In 2001, the Marine Corps initiated an internally designed martial arts program, called Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Due to an expectation that urban and police - type peacekeeping missions would become more common in the 21st century, placing Marines in even closer contact with unarmed civilians, MCMAP was implemented to provide Marines with a larger and more versatile set of less - than - lethal options for controlling hostile, but unarmed individuals . It is a stated aim of the program to instill and maintain the "Warrior Ethos" within Marines . The Marine Corps Martial Arts program is an eclectic mix of different styles of martial arts melded together . MCMAP consists of punches and kicks from Taekwondo and Karate, opponent weight transfer from Jujitsu, ground grappling involving joint locking techniques and chokes from Brazilian jiu - jitsu, and a mix of knife and baton / stick fighting derived from Eskrima, and elbow strikes and kick boxing from Muay Thai . Marines begin MCMAP training in boot camp, where they will earn the first of five available belts . </P> <P> As of 2013, the typical infantry rifleman carries $14,000 worth of gear (excluding night - vision goggles), compared to $2,500 a decade earlier . The number of pieces of equipment (everything from radios to trucks) in a typical infantry battalion has also increased, from 3,400 pieces of gear in 2001 to 8,500 in 2013 . </P> <P> The basic infantry weapon of the Marine Corps is the M4 Carbine, with a majority of non-infantry Marines equipped with the M16A4 service rifle . The M4 carbine and Colt 9mm SMG have also been issued . The standard side arm is the M9A1 pistol . The Colt M1911A1 is also being put back into service as the M45A1 Close Quarter Battle Pistol (CQBP) in small numbers . Suppressive fire is provided by the M27 IAR, M249 SAW, and M240 machine guns, at the squad and company levels respectively . In addition, indirect fire is provided by the M203 grenade launcher and the M32 grenade launcher in fireteams, M224 60 mm mortar in companies, and M252 81 mm mortar in battalions . The M2 . 50 caliber heavy machine gun and MK19 automatic grenade launcher (40 mm) are available for use by dismounted infantry, though they are more commonly vehicle - mounted . Precision firepower is provided by the M40 series, and the Barrett M107, while designated marksmen use the DMR (being replaced by the M39 EMR), and the SAM - R . </P>

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