White Sands Missile Range, 8-12 Mar 2010

[Son of Martha]

ALL INSTRUCTORS NOTE:  Do NOT discuss any details regarding troops scores, tactical situation they will face or area they are deploying to other than the country.

 The 2nd Engineer Battalion, 36 Engineer Brigade (Sapper Steel!) invited Appleseed to conduct a 5 day training exercise at one of the small arms ranges in the Fort Bliss/White Sands complex for a nominal 50 troops.  The intent was to improve hit capability in the 300-500 meter range band.  The Army supplied the troops, ammo and some administrative materials, the Appleseed Project supplied the instructors and the non-Army targets.

 Instructors rallied at a McDonald's in Las Cruces 1300 Sunday 7 March.  The military hosts were kind enough to come in on Sunday to conduct a briefing to help us understand the role the troops were slated for on deployment and how they would conduct operations.  Since most of our instructor team had not met in person we had a "pre-meeting meeting" to place names to faces and get a general outline of how military events might differ from normal Appleseeds.  The planned COF was quickly gone over with the caveat that it would almost certainly change based on what was discovered at the military briefing and on the range walk afterward.

 After our talk we convoyed to the appointed location on base and were briefed by the Captain who oversaw coordination, the range safety officer, and the range officer in charge.  One change up front was discovering that we could not use all 40 firing lanes due to a problem with the berms and would be restricted to only half of the firing points we expected.  This was a big cause for concern, as running relays of shooters is very detrimental to the planned time schedule.  After the meeting we convoyed to the actual range we would use and walked the facility.  A tentative plan for getting all shooters on the line, at least for the initial 25 meter phase, was worked out subject to approval by the range operator.  Afterward we convoyed to our assigned barracks and moved our gear in and then had the real pre-mission brief on Monday's plan.

 Monday was chilly and windy.  We talked to the troops in the bleachers first, explaining the Appleseed Project, instructor qualifications, how this week of training would differ from what they were used to, and an overview of the week to come.  We had the troops remove the optics from the rifles as learning the fundamentals is best done with iron sights and then to the line.  The instruction was basically day one of an Appleseed.  Several instructors brought loop slings to loan so the troops could see the benefit of using this method and things proceeded well during the morning.  We had sustained winds in the range of 10-12 mph with gusts of 40+ mph.  This caused a problem later in the day as sand was getting in the rifles to the extent that functioning problems became more common as the day wore on.  (This is not due to a fault in the design of the rifle, we were using normal Appleseed clearing measures which require the rifle to be grounded with magazine out and bolt locked back.  The amount of sand blowing around would cause problems with almost any rifle design under those conditions.)  Eventually we reached a point of diminishing returns in the afternoon as every string of fire was requiring the armorer to knock stuck cases out of the chambers.  Lt. Lowery (range OIC) suggested an early end to the day to ensure plenty of time for the troops to clean the rifles and I made the call when we reached a logical stopping point in the COF.  By this time the winds had gone from "normal" 10-12 mph with sporadic gusts to "normal" high wind with sporadic 12-15 mph lulls, and the amount of sand in the air would sometimes actually make it difficult to see 4 MOA targets at 25 meters.  The troops loaded the bus and the instructors met back at the barracks for our AAR.

 The main item of discussion at the AAR was how to keep the rifles functioning with the conditions we faced.  The plan to do so was to modify our line clearing procedure in order to keep the rifles off of the ground, as that was when most of the sand collected in them.  We decided (subject to an OK from Sgt. Smith, the range safety officer) to have the troops clear the rifles and then stand at their firing line position.  And instructor would come down the line and visually verify that the rifle was in the correct condition (mag out, bolt back, flag in, safety on) and then the troop would loop the sling over the head or shoulder and carry the rifle (muzzle down) to the target line and back.  NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT INDICATED FOR USE DURING REGULAR APPLESEEDS!  This was an adaptation appropriate to the circumstance and considered an additional training benefit, as the troops need to be comfortable and competent in handling the equipment.

 Tuesday was even chillier with the winds as bad as or worse than before.  Sgt. Smith had told the troops to bring ponchos to cover the rifles when they were grounded and we initially tried to use them with standard clearing procedures.  This was suboptimal in that not every troop got the word to bring a poncho, and in any event the wind was high enough that even keeping the ponchos in place became problematic.  After a short period of this Sgt. Smith allowed us to use the modified clearing procedures and we had fewer functioning problems than the day before.  The instruction proceeded, essentially day two of Appleseed, with the troops doggedly persisting in the face of atmospheric sand dense enough to occasionally make breathing difficult and body armor that caught the sand and ground it into places they didn't know they had.  We made more progress, doing 3 QDAQTs with the last two pulled and handed in for scoring.  Due to a suggestion from one of the soldiers observing the event we put the troops in the bleachers at the end of the day and did a quick AAR with them to get feedback.  We had a list of specific questions and then threw the floor open for discussion.  Notes were taken with percentages of troops answering each way noted.

 During the AAR at the barracks we developed plans to deal with issues raised during the troop AAR and decided to stay at 25 meters for the following day.  There is a point during these events when you can tell you are "over the hump", and we judged we weren't quite there yet.  We also scored the QDAQTs and put the results into a spreadsheet on a laptop to help with analysis (Thanks for the use of the machine, Pop!).  This was a wonderful tool, and was to pay big dividends later in the week.

 More to come--instructors chime in with comments on what is reported so far.

SoM

[BaldDragn]

This was the most challenging event I have ever worked. Starting with the 1200 mile drive picking up Camljr and AZRedHawk44 on the way to Staplegunned's house south of Las Cruces. He and his wife put us up for the night and even had a wonderfull meal waiting for us as we arrived.

The billets were comfortable and sparse with enough bunks so we none of us had to take a top bunk. With most of the instructors being 40+ the snoring was near as loud as a chainsaw convention. I'm sure I held up my part in that also.

I had the opportunity to work as line boss on the second day. Under normal condition I've never had a problem being heard 100 feet away but the wind easily drowned out my voice, especially on the upwind left side of the line. Thankfully there was a megaphone available for use and I used it for most of the day. With the addition of sand, picked up by the wind, my voice was completely trashed before the end of the day, and it remained that way until this morning. Most of the other instructors sounded rather froggy by the end of the week also.

Each day it seemed the wind started out rather strong and got worse as the day went on. When we showed up to near gale force winds on Wednesday morning I feared for the worse, if the winds had picked up they way they had on the past two days I couldn't imagine how we would keep the targets, stand and all, from blowing away. Luck was on our side as the wind calmed down to a workable 10 to 15 MPH.

The most unexpected challenge was getting "buy in" from the troops. Many of them looked at this as just a chance to get out of the regular day to day life of being a soldier. By the end of the event attitudes had changed drastically and I'm sure we gave the Sapper Steel organization back much more motivated troops who understood the value of what they had just been taught. Our XO for the event, EEL, was a master at getting the attention of these young men and explaining, in terms they could understand, why they needed to take this training very seriously.

The Appleseed instructors all showed the usual outstanding dedication to the task at hand. Working hard all day rarely even taking the time for lunch, instead spending the time working out answer to the special challenges the troops face that none of our regular attendees ever face, and they dedication much of each evening to detailed AARs, searching for answers to the special challenges we faced, and scoring AQTs shot earlier in the day.

By Wednesday I had hit the wall and shortly after getting back to the billets, collapsed in my bunk till early next morning.

On Thursday we saw an amazing change in the attitudes of our charges and progress was happening at a much faster pace. By Friday afternoon the whole group was trying their best to live up to Rifleman standards.

The lesson many learned at this event will make future military work much easier. I'm looking forward to doing another one of these in the future and it seemed that each of the instructors there had good ideas about other units they wanted to contact.

[Garand69]

What an incredible event!!!

As already said by BaldDragn, it was a very challenging event, but the more challenging something is, the more gratification you receive once the effort pays off!!

It was an excellent way to meet some dedicated Appleseeders from across the Country, and of course the great Soldiers from the 2nd Engineer Battalion!  GO SAPPER STEEL!!!!!!!

The ride from Chi-Town to WSMR and back, with EEL, Boba Fett, Longshot, and Greg in MO was quite the adventure and required a fair amount of ....... hmm how would Camjr say it.... Caffieneifacation to get back in one piece with 3400 total miles on the odometer of the Enterprise Rental Van (Thanks for donating the miles Enterprise!!!).

If any of you Instructor's ever have the opportunity to work with the Military, don't pass it up, it is an experience that you will never forget!

[SamD]

Rewarding,
The only word to describe working with the troops.  Nothing more worthwhile that you could ever do.

Fun
The best way to describe working with Appleseeders.  Many new faces to put to those names and lots of good information to pick up.  You are guarenteed to have a better time than at any other Appleseed activity, simply because of the great people you'll meet and work with. 

Regrets,
Yep. I could only work 2 days of the shoot 

I highly reccomend that you folks get cracking and set up some military shoots in your area.

Sam

[Son of Martha]

ALL INSTRUCTORS NOTE:  Do NOT discuss any details regarding troops scores, tactical situation they will face or area they are deploying to other than the country.

I will post the "raw" notes taken by the historians later, if there is a discrepancy between what they say and what I say, they are probably correct--this is coming from memory and scattered notes.

Wednesday was starting to calm down weather-wise, but still quite windy.  We stayed on the 25 meter range and REALLY got into the AQT grind.  The objective was to get the troops to "internalize" the NPOA drill and six steps.  We did the time-honored Appleseed tradition of repetitive drill coupled with individual coaching and added my own touch, just enough time stress to really mess with the laggards.  This was repeated throughout the afternoon.

Secured around 1700, AAR in the barracks.  The instructors thought (and I concurred) that we had turned the corner this day.  Troop attitudes were less "standoffish" and more engaged with making it work.  Several guys so heartbreakingly close to shooting a rifleman score.  Decision was made to go to AD next day, AQTs were graded and plugged into spreadsheet, and COF for the morrow was planned.  I had chosen Bill (EEL) as my XO, and every night we would stay up, along with the 'puter dudes and whoever was going to be platoon boss the next day and work on the COF to come.  This was needful, as until the AQTs were graded and recorded we didn't want to GUESS at the plan.  It DID however, lead to some very late nights...

Thursday was the first day of AD, and I ended up in the pits.  Blind and deaf to most of what was going on, but a needed thing nonetheless as it gave us our first data as to the real AD performance of the troops.  When I came out for the end of day AAR the troops and instructors were very upbeat about the day. At the troop AAR, gave them some percentages as a group, tried to put it into perspective RE: the hit rate of currently deployed troops.  AAR in the barracks , showers and bed.

Friday was another day in the pits for me.  The troops had DEMANDED more chances at the AQT (Huah!) and even wanted a crack at the Redcoat targets from the 100 meter berm...cool.  We accommodated both, calling the 100 meter RC the "Redcoat challenge", divided them into 5 man teams and gave a short lecture on teamwork.  Dunno what the results of that were, but it was valuable just to give the men a chance to hear the message....

Did AD all day after that.  Went from 100 to 500 meters, shot 2 groups at each range above 100, and then worked our way back.  Put up a new target sheet when they were about to come back up-range, and wrote the troop name on it for them to keep.

Put them in the bleachers when all was said and done.  Set up to pass out the materials we had brought, and read off the names of some men who had earned a certificate for performance (apparently it might count toward promotion, someday).  Even the men who did not get certificates were still upbeat and happy with the week.  No one seemed in a hurry to leave, and we got to talk and joke around with the men more than usual for the week.

A sad thing, having to leave men you have trained and KNOWING that they are going into harm's way.  Maybe some day, on some distant battlefield, the men of the 1/178 FA and 2/36 EN might end up covering each other, and a serendipitous confluence of events might obfuscate and confuse our enemy and encourage and protect our men.  Maybe...

The world hinges on contingency.  Our decisions MATTER.  None of us live in a vacuum, and as I told the men one day, "....History doesn't begin when you are born, and it will not end when you die.."  Revere, Dawes, Prescott et. al. did what they did because it was the RIGHT thing to do.  No reassurance that it would be successful, safe or remembered...it was RIGHT.  I think the same thing applies to the instructors who have stepped up for the military events.  Contingency.  Choices and consequences.  As the Guy says, "you must be able to die without doubts..."

We are trying to do that very thing.

SoM

[AZRedhawk44]

I had a lot of apprehension about this event and my ability to contribute to it.

Without delving into the taboo subjects mentioned by SoM, I was concerned that the Army's marksmanship standards might put these guys close enough to our standards that we might just be sitting there with all objectives met, by Tuesday afternoon.

My fears were unfounded.

Once the Appleseed mission statement and message was fully delivered to these guys, we had near unanimous buy-in from them and they took to the training with enthusiasm.  It helped immensely once we introduced some "platoon" competition between the right and left side of the lines, using Redcoat targets.

It was an honor and a privilege to meet all you guys from all over the country.  I felt like I was in the presence of Rifleman-sages.  The tips and techniques learned here will not only help with setting up more military Appleseeds, but also be used in varying ways at my regular 'Seeds.

Above all, it was a humbling experience to be chosen to teach these men about marksmanship prior to having them sent into combat.  Of all things the Army might choose to present to them prior to deployment... they chose Appleseed.  And out of all the resources that Appleseed had to offer, you guys chose me as one of the instructors to go there.  When the wind was kicking sand up at 30+mph and these guys were stubbornly clinging to their initial Basic marksmanship training rather than enhanced Appleseed techniques, I had to detach from "myself" and think about my job I had to do there.  I ain't a Fred or a Nickle, but I think I developed a greater appreciation for that old phrase that used to greet everyone on this forum: "Ready to eat grit and sweat bore solvent?"

[EEL]

An honor you say?  Rewarding?  Fun?  Exciting?  These few words can't come close to capturing the true feelings of our Instructor Corps.  Oh yeah, that's pronounced "Core", not corpse      

The transformation of these young men before our very eyes was incredible!  While some had to be dragged along kicking and screaming the first couple days, it finally clicked late Wednesday.  "The sling really is a great tool!" 

Tuesday, SoM picked up on their frustration and decided to get to the bottom of it.  It took a no BS    AAR with the troops to have them voice some of their problems with the sling.  That night in the billets, we discussed their concerns and did what all Appleseeders do, we improvised, adapted, and overcame.  We brainstormed and came up with a method to make the sling more user friendly for troops in full "Battle Rattle".  Again, NOT FOR NORMAL APPLESEED EVENTS. 

Interesting to see the wide variation of optics being used.  Educational to see the strength's and weaknesses of the various types.  A few of the hard core types even decided to shoot the entire week on irons.   

We left these fine young men more prepared to face what lies before them.      As an Appleseed family, we should be able to sleep better at night knowing that our efforts, both here and at Fort Stewart, will have a positive impact on the lives of men we, in all probability, will never meet.  Like our forefathers, we may never know the true impact of what we have accomplished here.........and that doesn't matter.

It was, most certainly...........RIGHT! 

May God ride with them.

Respectfully,
EEL

[POP]

A very HUMBLING experience for me, as well.  One of the best experiences of my entire life.

The "Thanks" from the Troops Friday afternoon and the conversation with them were so very rewarding.  But, the real payback is the knowledge that the Troops have confidence now they did not have prior to Operation Sapper Appleseed, confidence in themselves and in each other, pride in what they accomplished this week, and secure in the knowledge they will come home at the end of this tour to see their families.

Leaving Dona Ana Base Camp Friday evening, driving South towards IH-10, dusk turned into night and I began to notice my vision was a little blurry ... but, not from all the dust and wind this week.  Driving solo back to Corpus Christi at night provided time for introspective reflection upon the week at WSMR.  I got a little choked up.  OK, a lot choked up.  So, more on that later.

Saturday, driving through San Antonio I stopped by the Fort Sam Army Surplus to take a break from driving and see a friend of mine.  Getting back on the road I happened to drive past Fort Sam Houston National Memorial Cemetery.  With all the head stones in perfectly laid out rows and columns it reminded me of Arlington National Cemetery in DC.  Quietly I walked and read plaques and watched people who had come to honor loved ones, the vast majority of whom appeared to have been WWII and Korea War Vets.  And, I reflected again upon the week at WSMR.  The young men of the 2nd Eng Batt are much better prepared now for the task ahead.  Amen.

Thank you Project Appleseed.  I am honored to have participated in WSMR and to be part of the Appleseed organization.

Respectfully,
POP

[Boba Fett]

It's taken me a couple of days to even begin to start organizing my thoughts into some sort of cohesive written form. I'm sure it will be many more before I am fully able to put this experience on paper (metaphorically speaking). Last week was a "surreal" experience to the n^th degree. I have never witnessed a more dramatic example of Appleseed training in action. The first two days were dismal in so many ways (weather, preparations/organization, shooting skill/ability, and attitudes amongst the troops). The transformation that occurred throughout the week was both very exciting and extremely profound. In many ways these men benefited from these extremes as did we, because the experience also served to test the many intangibles of being a Rifleman that go beyond the skill-set of just shooting. Perseverance, Ability to adapt mechanically, Ability to cope with changing weather conditions (at one point on Monday morning we went from sun and wind to clouds and wind to rain and wind and then pea sized hail and wind and back to sun and wind in a matter of about 10-15 minutes), Ability to mentally discipline your(our)selves and "embrace the suck" ( I believe that's a Sapper Steel motto of some sort  ). By the end of the week we had Riflemen among us and a real sense of camaraderie between both the troops and the Instructors. Everyone was giving it 110% and working as a team. It was glorious!

I have never been more proud of both the Instructors I worked with and the men I was teaching than I was last week. Gentlemen, The difference we made was ETERNAL !!! whether we ever realize it or not. Seeds were planted deep and sound in the hearts and minds of those men and I do not doubt that we may very well see some of them again out on the Appleseed trail when they return home.

I am tired, badly sunburned, and still in a daze, but never happier, or filled with such satisfaction at a job well done. They say the Peace Corp is "the toughest job you'll ever love". After what I experienced last week, I beg to differ.

To all the men we worked with last week: Thank you for efforts and for your service. I hope you were able to see how much we care about our troops and about you specifically. You, and our time together last week, will forever be in our hearts and minds and I think I can speak for all of the Instructors when I say you WILL be in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers especially while deployed. Please keep in touch if you can. You are our posterity and the hopes and dreams of our country rest upon your shoulders. Pass on what you have learned and come home safe. We need men like you both on the battlefield and at home to keep this country as our founding fathers intended it to be: The land of the free and the home of the brave. 

God Bless you all!
Boba Fett

[V]

A fun picture of the instructors

[Garand69]

Sounds like we have a bit of follow through with one of our fine Soldiers!!

I'm sure Camjr will chime in, but we have a new Rifleman among our WSMR Soldiers!

[Camljr]

Full story has been told at the link below....


http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=12663.0

It is a good story.....

Moderator's Note: Forum registration required to view the above link. -CJ

[staplegund]

Tomorrow, Thursday, the Operation Steel Appleseed column comes out in the Missile Ranger newspaper.  I will gather many extra copies and scan the article tomorrow evening for entry here if I can.  I'm also going to 7step the recruiting offices tomorrow after work to promote our local event coming up.  Are you?

[oladcock]

staplegund, I think this is the article you are looking for:

http://www.missileranger.com/artman/publish/article_5023.shtml

"I'm also going to 7step the recruiting offices tomorrow after work to promote our local event coming up."

Already hit ours, encourage them and their delayed entry folks....O.L.

[POP]

Staplegund called Friday evening and said the Missile Ranger was out but, that the article on Operation Steele Appleseed left off the last line with contact info for Appleseed.

The ONLINE article has it all.

Thanks for posting.

POP

[Garand69]

Time for some Pics!!!! 





First meeting at Micky D's





Home Sweet Home!!



My first view of the 500 yard line.





Monday Morning




StapleGund

















Ft. Stewart had water.....













Instructors putting the gear on to see what works...



AZRedhawk as LB



Greg In Mo



Boba Fett



OL





EEL on grub detail





Camjr



Son of Martha



Nothin' but trouble this bunch!

























210!!!









Well, now that the pics have been cleared, hopefully more will pop up.

[Boba Fett]

Thanks for posting them G'Man! 

[TaosGlock]

Here we go..
I'll try and get a few each week.
We will get most of the weather pics over with first as that was a highlight.

The weather and location. Perfect training conditions for where these guys may go. High mountains and low desert with extreme conditions.
Snow still remained on the Organ Mountains which rise to a bit over 9000'. The pic below looks S. as one drives from Las Cruces.
Blowing clouds brought near freezing cold, but it's a dry cold.  



Below, looking N back towards the above pic. Ominous clouds are a sign of things to come as the weather rapidly deteoriates. Camljr and the rest of the crew in the background get the line ready before the troops arrive at 0830.


Finally the winds came at full force. Because of the direction of these winds, these are what Rifleman call "full value winds" and this day they topped out at 43 MPH according to 2 different hand held wind meters. With this wind data, do you know how minutes of angle of correction you need to hit your target at 500M? The troops found out. If you attend an Appleseed you will also learn.
Drew Hamilton, the WSMR PR guys told me that this was just a breeze in these parts.
Note the wind flag and the bent pole that leans in the direction of the prevailing wind.
Drew also stated that when it gets bad, windshields get blown out of cars (as his and others did) and auto glass gets sandblasted....gee.


Visibility decreased as the sky turned gray.  Wind chill kept temps near freezing.
Boba Fett and AZRedhawk44 guard the line. Instructor hats needed to be tight, not snug on your head.




Sand got into everything. Instructor gear and troop gear received equal amounts.


Pick it up, shake it out and get on with the COF. There were a few sand related malfs by the end of the day requiring attention by the onsite armorer.
Spare mags not put in pockets would fill with sand.


The sling below was OD green, with the help of the New Mexico sand, it has reverted to it's natural color of Desert Tan.


Despite the conditions, Rifleman persist and this mission went on.
Neither instructors nor troops missed a beat. Below is a lull in the nasty conditions.


Note that wind flag in the distance above the white van... the wind still won't stop.
Instruction was done in tight groups to hear over the roar of the winds. Instructors needed to be up wind so voices would carry better.


Adapt, persist and overcome and you will get results as this proud soldier's target clearly shows:


Many more pics and many reports to come. I got something for everyone. Stay tuned.

[Garand69]

Excellent Pics TaosGlock!!! You really "Captured" the Dust!!

[Camljr]

some more pics....

[BaldDragn]

Just one more post to finish off this page so we don't kill the bandwidth with a ton of pics on page one

[BaldDragn]

Now we should have a fresh page to place another terabyte of these beautifull pics on.

I'm so glad we are getting to see these, I had already forgotton how bad the conditions realy were. You guys got some great shots that almost show just how cold and dusty it was.

[eaglescouter]

This is an awesome photo!



Which oddly does not show up when the .jpg file location is bracketed with img tags......

[BaldDragn]

come on page two

[eaglescouter]

Page what?

[eaglescouter]

I refer to this photo:

http://img204.imageshack.us/i/13787954.jpg/

[staplegund]

Finally the winds came at full force. Because of the direction of these winds, these are what Rifleman call "full value winds" and this day they topped out at 43 MPH according to 2 different hand held wind meters. With this wind data, do you know how minutes of angle of correction you need to hit your target at 500M? The troops found out. If you attend an Appleseed you will also learn.
Drew Hamilton, the WSMR PR guys told me that this was just a breeze in these parts.
Note the wind flag and the bent pole that leans in the direction of the prevailing wind.
Drew also stated that when it gets bad, windshields get blown out of cars (as his and others did) and auto glass gets sandblasted....gee.

I'll have to put in that pic of the building with the roof blown off from back in December; also from one of Drew's articles!
-SG

[Camljr]

more pics, with which to kill bandwidth on page two!!!

[BaldDragn]

good stuff, well add a few cheap posts to space things out

[TaosGlock]

Meet the WSMR Instructor crew for the The 2nd Engineer Battalion, 36 Engineer Brigade! (Sapper Steel)

The Appleseed instructor crew for the Operation Steel Appleseed (not shown, Son of Martha, SamD, ashrn03 and TaosGlock):
L-R, BaldDragon, Boba Fett, AZRedhawk44, Long Rifle, EEL, Garand69, duc-dog, POP, Longshot, Greg in MO, BlueFeather, Camljr, Strawberry Roan, oladcock, staplegund.


A chilly early morning instructor briefing at 0800.


Troops pick up their daily ammo supply. Today was 200 rds of standard M855.


Troops then head 500m down to the berm where the long grueling days begin.
This high peak and low desert area of New Mexico make for a great training ground.


GI slings for the troops were graciously supplied by Longshot, ashrn03 and BaldDragon.
Buckle adjustments were required for the slings.
Garand69 drew the small straw and holds, while Greg in MO gets to hit. Garand69 is safe as it's not exactly a 10# sledge.


50 shooters of the The 2nd Engineer Battalion, 36 Engineer Brigade. Look at that line!


Morning warm up on the 25M (1" or 4MOA) sighter squares. These represents a torso at 500M.


Hot brass (near the pinky finger on the support hand) flying on a cold NM day:


Once the troops are sighted in, then it's on to the AQT. (The Army Qualification Target)
This is the penultimate standard of marksmanship. The Appleseed Project also uses this as a standard.
An Army "Expert" score is 210 out of a possible 250 points.

To even become considered for an Appleseed instructor, you must first score Expert on the AQT.

Camljr instructs on the line for the first stage of the AQT. (Standing with 10 rounds in 2 minutes at a target that emulates a 100 yard torso)


Below:
Stage 1 of the AQT underway. Get er' done boys...and did they ever...and in great style! All in about a minute, half the time alloted!


The 200M Stage 2 of the AQT. Fast and furious!
Standing to sitting in 55 seconds with 10 rounds on 2 targets.
Fire 2 rounds, do a mag change, fire 3 more shift your natural point of aim to the right target and fire 5 more.


Once in position, this stage requires speed and intense focus to make scoring hits. And did these guys ever deliver the goods...straight to the target!


Below:
Stage 3. The 300M rapid prone stage of the AQT.
Standing to prone with 10 rounds on 3 targets.
Fire 2 shots, do a mag change, fire one more on the same target, shift NPOA,
fire 3 more on the middle target, shift NPOA and fire 4 on the last target...and regulation time is only 65 seconds
It's rock n' roll time and once again, these troops performed admirably!
POP instructs on the line.


Below:
Stage 4 of the AQT. Slow fire prone on 400M targets.
Start in prone and stay in prone. 10 rounds in 5 minutes on 4 targets.
This stage counts double and absolutely demands that you have find and shift NPOA.
Troops finished in an average of only 2 minutes! Good job guys!
BaldDragon and AZRedhawk44 on the line.


After the smoke cleared...
(BlueFeather in the foreground.  POP, in the red jacket in the middle of the gunsmoke)


And the targets were scored...
(EEL and Long Rifle in the foreground):


camljr helps score an AQT below:


The first of many "Expert" Riflemen will emerge!
..to be continued...