Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. (April 12, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Mitchell Johnson, Marine Corps Sergeant Steven Gomez, a small arms repair technician with Weapons Training Battalion, fires a World War II vintage French M1 Grand rifle during Marine Corps Championships at Quantico, Virginia. Marines who place in the top ten percent in marksmanship during unit competition are invited to participate in the Marine Corps Championships, a ten-day contest in precision rifle, pistol, and multi-gun action shooting to see which unit has the sharpest marksmen in the Marine Corps.

Quantico is affectionately known as the “crossroads of the Marine Corps” in that no other base touches virtually every aspect of the Corps. The base is primarily used for training and hosts the USMC The Basic School, Officer Candidates School,  Marine Corps University, Weapons Training Battalion, and the FBI Academy.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps established Quantico on May 14, 1917, and thousands of Marines would be trained there before World War I. The goal at that time was to make Quantico “and the whole Marine Corps a great university.”

This is where the Marine Corps tactics of amphibious warfare were conceived and perfected. Aviators at the base also developed close-air support tactics to aid Marines on the ground and this was the birthplace of Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, the first to ferry Marines ship to shore into combat.

Today, Quantico is home to over 28,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel who support more than 30 federal agencies that train there year-round. These dedicated patriots ensure the Marine Corps of the future will be the best trained, led, disciplined, and equipped fighting force in the world.