So here I am, more than three months out of AIT, and almost nine months out of Basic Training. I haven’t been downrange; I’ve just been cooling my heels here in garrison.
So why am I still looking for my rifle?
I’ve been finished with weapons immersion for nearly nine months, and I never carried an M-16 for more than a few hours at a time during all of AIT. I’ve been issued a rifle here, but aside from qualification day at the range, it has been in the arms room the entire time.
Nevertheless, I still frequently get “where in Hell did I leave my rifle…oh, right” moments. Well, not exactly, but somewhere in the back of my mind part of me still thinks I should be toting a rifle at all times.
I don’t know if maybe the extensive weapons immersion training in Basic was just particularly effective, or if maybe it’s the weapons immersion coupled with nine solid months as platoon phase banner/company guidon Deathgrip Boy.
These “where’s my rifle” moments have gotten to the point where I have actually seriously considered purchasing a replica M-14 just so I could security blanket my way around my quarters. I also tried to convince myself that I would be buying it strictly for natural-point-of-aim practice and various DETOX-esque exercises and perhaps drill and ceremony refreshers. But I know the real reason.
M-14 replica rifle.
In the end, I decided against buying the replica rifle, mostly because I couldn’t bring myself to spend more on a replica rifle than it would cost me to buy an honest-to-God (albeit WWII-era) rifle at Big 5. Also, having it shipped here might also be problematic. And I’m not even considering acquiring a real rifle since I imagine that could prove to be…troublesome. At least while I’m here.
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