An "expert" in my opinion goes way beyond basic marksmanship. My impression of the army was not all that stringent. Read that the army is re-discovering the range beyond 50 yards.
FWIW, my last qual with an M-14 was considered "expert" but was at fixed ranges out to 500 yards. No way does that equate to mastery of multiple weapons in a field environment. A good shot, sure, but no "expert".
Umm. I think that falls under the category "Things that are obvious."
"Basic" and "expert" are mutually exclusive. Either you are proficient in the basics, or you've exceeded the level of basic proficiency.
As I tried to explain, what the military labels as "expert" is based on their criteria at the time. It does not mean they are an expert in other situations, such as being qualified to testify as an expert witness in court.
You can be an expert marksman in small arms but have no idea how to operate a rocket launcher, use a .50cal sniper rifle at over a mile, or any other weapon that you can name. In the context of the Second Amendment, I think we are limited to discussing the proposals at hand, i.e. "Assault Weapons." If she's qualified at the expert level for marksmanship, then she has the right to claim she's an expert for purposes of the discussion. She understands the nomenclature, the functionality and the capabilities of the rifles. That's about 100% more than most politicians pretending to know what the hell they are talking about.
Call her whatever you want, but arguing over her credentials, as I said already, isn't the point. Listen to what she says, and see if her facts as they relate to firearms are correct. If not, then her expertise may be in doubt.
I'm in no way defending her position on Modern Sporting Rifles. In fact, she needs to be corrected on the point that what civilians own are NOT the same as what she claims to have witnessed on the battlefield and in hospitals. Most American casualties were not the result of M4 fire. They were from AK-47s, Shoulder Launched Rockets, and IEDs. So, the wounds she discusses are not consistent with how she views AR-15s.
At least she hasn't been telling about how she ran for cover under sniper fire ...