Another wicked cold morning spent freezing our asses of in the bleachers as we waited for the range to open up - operators, ammunition, etc. Time we felt could have been better spent getting more sleep. However, since this range was named the Bastogne Range, and knowing that Bastogne was surrounded in Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, I felt I would stop complaining and be thankful I am not deploying to a real combat zone.
The actual amount of firing was limited to a couple of short bursts with each weapon - the 50mm caliber Heavy Machine Gun, and two types of 30mm caliber Squad Automatic Weapons. Aimed my shots at an Armored Personnel Carrier located about 800m downrange. The Drill Instructors encouraged folks to yell out "motivational" sayings as one fired the 50 cal HMG. One woman in front of me yelled "Its Plastic, its not Recyclable!" Another guy yelled "Yeahaw, Jester's Dead!" recalling a famous line from the movie Top Gun. Not having anything particularly pithy in mind, I just yelled out a line from a bumper sticker I once saw that is meant to offend everyone - something about Nukes, Whales, etc.
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