The Range Incident

[jim armstroong]

 

This is also posted under the "Shooting the Breeze" section but I thought posting it here more of you might get a kick out of just how stupid the Army was at times!!!

 

Following VE Day in the ETO,my unit was to go to the Pacific(PTO) and we were sent lock stock and barrel to the Arles Staging Area near Marseilles for a refitting and remanning etc.

 

This was following(at least in my case) some 281 days of combat and many of the men had done the same or nearly the same thing. Why do I emphasize this?

 

Some genius in the Command running the Staging Area thought that it would be a good idea, not only to keep the men busy, but (and this is a direct quote) "to refresh their ability to hit a given target and to become familiar with their weapons". Apparently he thought we had been pointing our weapons at the Krauts and yelling "BANG I GOTCHA".

 

After a few rounds up in the air,,or men turning around and pointing their loaded weapons at the Range Crew while asking such questions as how do I put a shell in this weapon(M-1s), it was decided that this was too dangerous for the Range People so the "exercise" was called off.

 

We didn't know it but our BN. CO(originally a Capt in HQ Co.) was watching all the time and according to his driver almost split a gut laughing before he cleared the area.

 

Next day we were back to hanging around the Co. tent area playing touch football.

 

Sgtleo

[Walt's Daughter]

Ah I am going to move this to the WWII stories section because well it DOES happen to be a WWII story!

 

Plus anything put in jokes or shooting the breeze will disappear after 30 days....

 

This is a peach of a story. Need experience shooting? What a joke. Love how you guys handled this.

[Sgtleo]

 

Fearless Leader and Woman of Infinite Wisdom:-

 

I bow to you Regal Authority!!

 

Do what you think is the "peachy" thing to do with that story.

 

Your wish is my command!!

 

Truthfully you never saw such a bunch of crazies as I had that day and I guarantee that those Range People needed some R&R after that day.

 

I forgot the part about a Plt. Sgt. that turned to ask a question and "accidently" fired a round between the feet of one of their NCOs. Panic time!!!!!

 

They were for the most part Newbies and the Officers were ASTP newbies as well.

 

Seriously think of the rank stupidity where "THEY" were going to have us go through range procedures just like in Basic after what we had already seen and done.

 

Can you imagine my guys when a Newbie Lt. starts to show us how to put a clip in an M-l by the numbers. He didn't even catch on when the man asked him "how do I put this one round in the weapon?". One guy told the Lt. he had an M-l thumb and he did not know what that was - duh!!!

 

Sgtleo

[j3rdinf]

Sgt. Leo.: Strange you should mention rifle practice. When arriving as a replacement

rifleman in France and being shipped to a front line outfit (3rd Inf Div) I was issued a

M-1 rifle naturally, along with other hardware. BUT, no chance to zero in a new/used

rifle until my first combat. Luckily someone had it down fairly well but it sure worried me till then. No chance to zero it in prior. One damn poor way of getting confidence in

ones rifle. Just one extra hour for sighting in would have been helpfull for confidence

in ones weapon.

[chambers]

Gee Sgtleo, isn't ha a typical government agency for ya?

 

Brooke

[Sgtleo]

 

Joe and Brooke

 

I can see your point Joe about getting a chance to true the sights and how important that was before going up.

 

What really frosted me was the fact that most of us had the same weapons we had been using BUT NOW this ASTP genius was going to show us the proper positions such as prone,kneeling,sitting etc and how to use the sling to support your arm in the standing position etc.

 

I think some of the replacements we got to fill the TO had more time in the chow line than this boob had in the ETO.

 

Joe how many times did you stop to see if elbow was in the proper spot under the rifle before firing?? DUH

 

Brooke that type conduct was SOP as soon as the war ended - believe it or not!!!

 

Sgtleo