Is it really worth it?

1 Company,
2 Days of Shooting,
18 Lanes for firing,
22 Instructors,
181 Recruits,
200 M-16 rifles,
700 Magazines,
6000 Target Boards
27,000 Rounds of ammunition,

1 Range Package,

Thereby causing,

Countless miss-fires,
Millions of I-A's (jamming of rifles),
27,000 Expended rounds (some are returned though),
6000 Used Target boards (of which less than half got hit thanks to cock-eyed shooters),
700 Very hot magazines,
200 Dirty rifles,
181 Tired maggots,
22 Cranky and coarsed-voiced instructors,
18 Lanes littered with empty ammunition cartridges,
2 Days of fruitless shooting (the total score for this range was one of the lowest),
1 Extremely tired and sleepy company.

Which explains why I only managed to blog in the late morning. Bloody re-shooters in range caused the whole company to only cease fire at 11pm last night. Meaning that we slept at around 2am and only managed to book out early this morning.

I, and a few other instructors, nearly lost our lives back at Range yesterday. Thanks to the foolishness and ignorance of the recruits. Sheesh. No wonder instructors deserve the extra pay more than section commanders out there in the units.
Despite us reminding thr recruits that they must, at all times , point their rifles to the front (in the direction of the targets), they refused to comply. Here's one good example...

Recruit XYZ was firing as per normal.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Click!
Uh-oh. As a trained specialist, I'd recognised the sound anytime. Bloody jammed rifle.
Recruit XYZ finally realises it too.

*Turns around from target to face me (I was standing behind him), with a LOADED rifle pointing straight at me*

"Sergeant! I-A!" (meaning a jammed rifle requiring an Immediate-Action)
"&@*!^#%$&@*!^#%$!!!",
"OEI! POINT YOUR RIFLE TO THE FRONT!!!", I shouted.

*at the same time, rushed towards him and shoved his wayward pointing rifle back to the front*

Then I went and helped him remedy his weapon. Sheesh. Another close shave. Had that rifle suddenly snapped back to life, it would be the end of me. Which really makes me marvel at the destructive power of a rifle. There lies, in the hands of a recruit, a device which is capable of taking away lives. I shudder to think what that weapon could do in the hands of an insane recruit.

Is it really worth it?

Which was why weasel maintained that recruits must be treated very nicely and tenderly as they may pull something funny in Shooting range and Grenade range. Sheesh.

I am just so glad that it's over and I'm home.

Safe and Sound.