During the past week I have done a couple of things that I think might be of some interest to you, so I will post a few lines about them.
Last Wednesday I went to the pistol range for the second time. The .45 cal Colt Automatic Pistol is a very important weapon in the Corps of Military Police, and according to the first lieutenant, who was keeping our scores, it is the most difficult gun in the army to shoot with any accuracy. It has a very short barrel and “kicks up” quite a bit when fired, so you must aim and squeeze the trigger very carefully or you will miss the whole target.
Such being the case, I was surprised that on my second try and after firing the gun only 50 or 60 times I would do well enough to qualify as a “Marksman” with the pistol. Of course, “Marksman” is not as good as “sharpshooter” or “expert”, but you still have to do some pretty good shooting to qualify as one.
On Thursday our company went out on a little camping trip. It was our first march with full field packs including rifles, so we went only 4 or 5 miles in all. The main purpose of the trip was to give us experience in pitching tents and in digging and camouflaging “fox holes”. During the march, we frequently had to run from the road, and “hit the ground” to escape imaginary planes which were “strafing” us. All in all, we are learning a lot about how to take care of ourselves.
From Friday noon to Saturday noon I was on guard duty. I was assigned to the station hospital, where I had to keep an eye on several “mental cases” and four sick prisoners (men who have been court-martialed, put in the guardhouse, and got sick while there). I was armed with just a 2-foot, mahogany billy-club, but in a case of emergency, I think I could do a lot of damage with it.
Well I guess that is all for this time. I will post again when I have a chance.
[letterstohome copyright 2008]