Before I deployed to Afghanistan, I spent a month at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, undergoing Army Combat Skills Training. Here's some of the fun I went through.
The day dawned hot and promised to bake us thoroughly to a crackly
crunch. We were issued our weapons and body armor, and off we went to chow
and then to the firing range. Today we had to "zero" our M-16s
(semi-automatic rifles dating back to the Vietnam war). To do this we fired
a clip of three shots (There are 30 of us doing this at a time) then go out
to the targets, draw a triangle between the three hits, and do it again.
This process takes about 10 minutes. Once you've got two groups within 4
centimeters, you can adjust your sights. Wearing body armor throws off your
sights a lot, so even though my weapon was zeroed before I left, I had to
make significant adjustments. It took me six clips (18) shots) to zero my
weapon. I am only one of two officers with both the M-16 and 9 mil pistol,
so they envied me getting to shoot.
This may sound fun, but it was hot and very windy, which means all the
moisture was sucked from your body pretty fast. Also, body armor is hot and
heavy, and we shot from fox holes, so watching me jump out from a fox hole
with armor on was quite a sight, I'm sure. Further more, over half of us
were not issued armor or helmets, so we were supposed to get that issued
before we hit the ranges. Oops, Army dropped the ball and that didn't
happen. So i had to wear another guys sweaty helmet and armor, when he was
done. Oh JOY!
I finished shooting around 1100, and ate an MRE (Meal ready to eat) the
modern version of field rations. I had a delightful spicy paste penne, or
something like that. The magic heating package worked well, and I had a good
meal. The LT next to me turned her nose up at everything, so I got some of
her food too. First rule here is eat until stuffed, cause you don't know
when you'll eat again. After eating until about to gag, I waddled around
looking for shady spots to sit and wait for the truly inept to finish
zeroing weapons. Ther are 80 of us, about 60 had to zero M-16s, and you
don't go until you succeed. By 2 PM we were down to the last 10, and the rest
of us watch in apathy, knowing we'd be there forever.
Some of this folks fired for three hours trying to zero the weapon.
Finally about 3 PM they had all finished. I think the instructors just
passed them because they were about to pass out from the heat. Alright, we
can go back now. Wrong, but thanks for playing. Seems the buses are on a
fixed schedule, so they will not come early. Another 60 minutes in the sun.
Arrgghh! Must control fist of death.
The next day we headed out to the firing range again. This time the plan required careful planning and coordination, which of course meant it would fail miserably. One bus was supposed to go to the pistol range, the other to the M-16 range. I even asked my driver if this bus went to the 9 mil range. Yes I was assured, though clearly the driver had no idea what I meant and was just being agreeable. 20 minutes later we arrived at the wrong range, and after much wringing of hands, we all loaded back on the bus and drove for another 35 minutes (Fort Sill is HUGE, and has ranges all over the place). Since we arrived late, I settled in for a four-hour wait before I would shoot.
All ranges have a set of bleachers where we can sit while waiting. However, they are inside of giant aluminum sheds, with only the front wall missing, so you can watch your friends miss miserably. However, there is no breeze inside of these, so though shady, they are quite hot. I find a spot outside of the shed in the shade to enjoy the always present breezes. I finally shot at 8 PM in the evening, so the weather was pleasant. This is a good thing, as I was fully armored.
When we shoot, we must wear body armor and a helmet. We also wear elbow and knee pads. Everything is both heavy and cumbersome. It is affectionately know as “Battle Rattle.” Anyhow, even while wearing battle rattle, and shooting at pop-up targets, I had the highest score of all 80 of us with the pistol. Insert smug satisfaction here. The Pistol range was in an area that looked like the Serengeti Plain in Africa. There will high barren hills all around, and short, stubby trees spaced around us. It was a pretty location.
At 8:30 PM we headed off. Back to the dorm, right? Wrong. We go back to the range we were at originally to do night firing. We all got to shoot the M-16 with tracers, which are shells that leave a fiery trail and allow you to see them in the dark. It was an awesome sight, and the only enjoyable part of the training so far. We arrived back at the dorm around 1030, and I threw off all my sweaty clothes, showered, and felt human again. But could I go to bed by 1100? Noo, my roomie hadn’t even showered yet. Sigh.