Another exciting day of waiting at Ft Jackson. Today we went out to the rifle range to practice shooting the M16 at pop-up targets – we actually ‘qualify shoot’ tomorrow. Alas, the weather did not cooperate and after a lengthy period of waiting, we ended up going back to base camp for some power point training.
0545 formation – in full ‘battle rattle’ – with my M16
Shooting at pop up targets with the M16 – the targets are the small black semi-circles about halfway up poking above the ground
Then the rains (and lightning) came….
A picnic under the bleachers - MREs for lunch – chili and beans.
At the halfway point. Someone asked me if this challenging. The answer is no, not remotely. The only difficult part is putting up with the poor planning, the waiting, and the training BS (e.g. putting on and taking off body armor several times in the course of a morning). Though wearing the body armor is a pain – we measured the full kit at 60 pounds plus – it is just something to deal with. The ‘physical’ portion is a joke – we did one ‘run’ as a group, singing songs and such. The run was easy. But frankly, we are not here to get in shape – our goal is to learn to get comfy with the gear we will wear in theater (body armor) and know how to shoot the weapons we will carry. And, for that, the place gets a passing grade – the Army does have a knack for teaching that.
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