Basic Training Basics: Basic Rifle Marksmanship (Ft Benning)

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**Basic Rifle Marksmanship**

Most drill sergeants will tell you that they can teach a monkey to shoot; they take great pride in teaching someone how to shoot their rifle, and to shoot it well. Many recruits are afraid because they have never handled a weapon in their life. To tell you the truth, drill sergeants prefer it this way. Less bad habits to unlearn. One thing you have to remember in the military, before anything serious is expected of you, you will have countless blocks of instruction and hours of practice. The same goes for your assigned M4 rifle. Yes, this rifle will be "your baby" the entire time in BT Land. After the first two weeks of basic training, you will go to the company arms room and get your weapon assigned to you. Every time you go to a range, or need your rifle for cleaning, practicing, or just for carrying, you will go there and get it. Treat this as you would a small child. Never leave it unattended, even for a second! Never call it a gun; it's a rifle (you'll do push-ups for that one). If you are doing push-ups, place the rile across the backs of your hands so it won't touch the floor while you are pushing. Of course, there will be times that the drill sergeants will put one of you as a platoon guard to guard the weapons in formation, but other than that, when it is not in the arms room, you had better always keep it in arms reach. Believe it or not, you'll become so familiar with your weapon, you will be able to take it apart and back together again, with no problems at all. During your blocks of instruction, your drill sergeants will even race you against one another in order to get proficient.

New recruits are always asking what they can do to prepare themselves beforehand. Don't worry about the weapon itself, you'll be taught the proper way to deal with it. One thing you can do now though is to make sure your eyes are in order, especially if you are near-sighted. If you have a prescription, please do wear your glasses now so that you are used to having something on your face. No contact lenses will be allowed in basic. Once you get to the reception station and get your military glasses (BCGs - Birth Control Devices, cause they look so horrid), keep wearing them. They'll probably be heavier than your own, but they are as sturdy as a Mack truck. The faster your eyes get accustomed to them, the easier it'll be for you when it comes time to zero and qualifty with your weapon. Another thing you should be doing is to determine which of your eyes is the dominant one. If you know it beforehand (before you start having trouble on the rifle range), you'll have less trouble.