Rifleman practice is range time, quals, or any live-fire event. I carried a M16 early on but then became a M60 gunner for the balance of my time in. The only time we used BFA's in-field training and war games (your field ops with an aggressor force)
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Here is a Winchester stock that was rebuilt at Anniston (note the AN stamp) during WW2 and stamp with the SA GAW cartouche which on this stock indicates a rebuild. They over sanded this stock too much and now it has receiver overhang on the rear. It does not bother some but I would not use it on a rifleAttachment 110670Attachment 110671
Here is a Winchester stock that was rebuilt at Anniston (note the AN stamp) during WW2 and stamp with the SA GAW cartouche which on this stock indicates a rebuild. They over sanded this stock too much and now it has receiver overhang on the rear. It does not bother some but I would not use it on a rifleAttachment 110670Attachment 110671Attachment 110672
We would go to 29 Palms about once a year and run live fire ops. We had a night fire range up the road, this was before the invention of Miles gear. I would love to hear what Bob Seijas has to say about this. My Korean War vet Dad said he carried a Carbine or Thompson with two .45's and just doesn't remember the details of carrying the M1 in Basic training.
29 Palms: Desert Training, Bridgeport CA: Cold-weather warfare, Camp Shelby AKA Camp Swampy MS: Jungle Warfare and Fort Hunter Liggett CA - We did a lot of training but also played war with the Marines at all three now and then. We did our Qualifications at Mare Island CA and Weapons Training / Qualifications at Camp Pendelton CA - Went to Camp Parks CA but NEVER got to use the range we were there doing projects and construction training.
Seabees and Marines used to be tied at the hip when I was in, they were even responsible for providing our uniforms the only difference between the Seabee Sateens and the Maries was the belt Navy Blue Seabees /Caci for the Marines and the fact Seabees had the logo on the pocket. We had a Marine Gunny attached to our Battalion and all of our weapons, and combat training was done by the Marines. Don't know if that's still true or not.
I pretty much grew up a Seabee. My grandfather was a Seabee in WWII (Tinian, Saipan, and GUAM), My Dad was a lifer with the bee's Korea and Vietnam. I grew up on Port Hueneme.
Everybody was issued an M1, they were stored in barracks racks. We drilled with them, learned the manual of arms, learned to shoot them on the range. We never had a live-fire exercise because the week we we scheduled for bivouac there was a monster blizzard and we all shoveled snow.
I remember our instructors telling us that in WWII GIs were taught to load a clip with the first round on one side or the other, I forget which, but that was considered "brown shoe army" (old fashioned and outdated). The loading problem had been fixed, so we were taught to load it any way the clip came.
Do you have an opinion on whether the holes on the right of the rifle could be combat related? I know this post has gotten a little off topic, but I think everyone would appreciate your thoughts.
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I only interacted with Seabee's when I was on a troop transport. You guys dropped the big steel dock floats. We got along great with you guys. Neither of us liked the ships crew. I bought a T99 from a woman who was liquidating her parents house, both had died. Dad 2001, Mom 2010. She was selling it and I said, but this is your families history, you should keep it. She said she hated guns, and has plenty to remember her Dad by. She said her Dad was a SeaBee and got the rifle on some island someone named Gay took off from. I always thought, Enola Gay? Tinian