17 brave Patriots, including 12 first-time Appleseeders, came out Saturday morning to join us in a day of marksmanship and heritage. Despite the weather forecast, recent flooding, heat, and a humidity of 99 percent by 9am, we carried on. As soon as the sun hit standing water on the range, it was like a sauna, fogging up shooting glasses during the redcoat targets. Our students faced every challenge with grit and determination, shooting from standing, seated, and prone positions. We spent most of the morning drinking from the firehose of instruction and then getting fired up again with inspirational stories about the founding of our country, on April 19, 1775, the day marksmanship met history and Liberty prevailed.
John, having previously qualified with a rimfire rifle, brought out a center-fire, this time around, and cleared his first redcoat (also scoring expert Rifleman on Sunday) He is also one of our newest "orange hat" instructors-in-training. Huzzah! LEO Edwin, a man who truly values the Constitution, cleared a redcoat, qualified twice, and has already submitted his paperwork to become another new instructor-in-training. It will be quite an honor to have you with us, sir. Mark also re-qualified on Sunday. Nice shootin!
All but 3 students returned again on Sunday, sloshing through even more water on the range after the Saturday night drenching. We quickly sprung into action, everyone showing much improvement and we also honored the many brave men who fell on April 19 with a special Liberty volley. Even though it was brutal, we managed 2 AQTs by mid-afternoon. Scott, the only man left with any steam to continue, showed us what true tenacity looks like in typical Marine Corps fashion and an inspiration to us all. Sadly, combined factors cut the day short and we barely managed to get all the gear packed in when a nasty storm set in. All instructors have checked in, making it home safe, and I hope and pray everyone else made it through the storm as well.
It has been our honor to have you all with us this weekend and I've rarely seen so many people as fired up about the heritage, especially after reading passages of the Constitution aloud and proud. I hope you all continue to cherish and make good use of it.
Welcome aboard, John and Edwin. Thank you for stepping up. :bow:
A few Pictures