This is a link to a good write-up about the M16A1 and the M16A2. Check out the section on setting the sights and sling use.
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a168577.pdf
Good stuff! Shamelessly added to my reference materials...
Thx - RR
Great stuff, unfortunately 27 years later the Army still hasn't learned it's lesson.
DEH
1LT, USAR
If the training doctrine conclusions of the document were correct, the army should have the best trained riflemen on the planet. But somehow that is not the case.
I noticed the Feb. 1986 date on the training doc. I sent the link to my son. He has a tour in Bosnia, 2 tours in Iraq, and one in Afghan. He has been in the US Army since May of 2000. He attended his first AS in 2010 at Osage Beach, Mo. He scored 223 on his first AQT he ever saw on Sat. p.m. It wasn't luck. He shot 210 or better, more times that weekend. He said there are several in his platoon that shoot ever bit as good as he does. In 13 years he has fired 1000's of rounds thru M16 type rifles, mostly with open iron sites. He does shoot with ACOG and other electronic sights as well. In the last 25 years, training troops with the AR style rifle has changed many times over. While he said the content of the 1986 document was certainly pertinent at the time, much has changed since then. He made an interesting comment to me that weekend about AS which I have remembered. He said, "the Army trains you to know and fire your weapons very well, but this AS weekend taught me some things the Army doesn't touch upon". He was refering to the six steps to firing a proper shot. He is planning to be home from Ft. Riley, this April on leave, to attend our first AS of the summer, 20/21 April at Catalpa Creek here in SW Iowa. Due to his past experiences, I have gained much faith in the US Army's training of it's riflemen, especially when compared to the training I received in '65 thru '69 with a M-14 at Leonard Wood. (Flags @ half staff 2 Mar. for Chris Kyle)
In my experience, there are good shooters in the Army despite the training. The training isn't bad, but it doesn't go far enough at the basic level. If a soldier goes on to combat arms, then they get much more trigger time which allows them to become proficient shots.
If you read "Taking Back the Infantry Half Kilometer" there is a reference to pre WWI soldiers first training at "short" distance (out to 500 yards) and then "intermediate" distance (out to 800) and then "long" distance (out to a thousand).
So as it has been stated in Appleseed, the 500 yards that we train to is actually pretty basic and just a starting point.