The Real Range

Finally, we got to shoot on the actual range we will qualify on. It's different, in that there are targets from 50m to 300m in 50m increments, with two targets at 50m (left and right of the center line). The near targets pop up for 3 seconds, while the furthest are up for 9 seconds. Even though we practiced the same thing on the simulator, the feel of the actual range is quite different. The sim gives you an idea of what to expect and is good for practicing technique, but is no substitute for the real deal.

The past few weeks, there have been countless butterflies all over the place. They're black, with blue and green neon highlights in their wings. They're also quite large. At one point, while waiting to fire, 3 of them landed on my M-16, which was lying on the sandbags of my firing position.

I thought it would make a great photograph. That photo would make a good statement about the role of warefare in society - there are many beautiful things in the world that fighting destroys. Armed conflict should always be the choice of last resort.

When my turn came to shoot, and the butterflies had left on their own accord, I did well enough - "qualifying" on my first try. That was my only opportunity to shoot today because most other soldiers did not fare as well. That others shot time and again, until the bosses came. Hopefully, tomorrow will go better for them.