We were all issued an M14 rifle and two clips to place the ammo in when it was given to us which was not then of course. One of the DI's went through some rudimentary procedures on how to carry the "weapon" which they insisted we call it and if anyone ever called it a "gun" they were doing push ups soon after.
They loaded us on a 2 1/2 Ton army truck and we sat in the bumpy rig for about a half hour. As soon as we departed the truck we were organized in to firing parties and sent to different stands for a lecture on how to aim and shoot. This went on for a couple of hours and then they showed a demonstration where a marksmanship instructor fired the M14 holding it against his chin and then is groin. That was to show us that if held properly the "kick" of the weapon would not hurt us.
We were told that we were to do nothing on the firing line until told to do so. We marched off and lined up behind firing positions told to lay our weapons on the ground and then we were handed three bullets. It would be tedious to discuss the procedures that we had to follow and go through before we could actually fire and the methods we used to site in our weapons, and the long hours we spent doing all of it, so lets just say by the end of six weeks we had a pretty good handle on how to load, aim, fire, maneuver, and hit what we were aiming at. I found out that all the shooting I did with my BB gun back on Crisp Lake was of some help. I qualified expert on the final exam. I felt very comfortable with my gun, oh, I mean my weapon. Hand granades were a different story however.
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