{"id":210,"date":"2017-09-19T16:32:28","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T22:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/?p=210"},"modified":"2017-09-19T16:32:28","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T22:32:28","slug":"samantha-weapons-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-weapons-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Samantha \u2013 Weapons Training"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Samantha has returned from her vacation and continues with her description of Plebe Summer. She had two roommates, Ashley Carr and Danielle Tennant. As the de facto room commander, she took a special interest in both of them. The first time at weapons training signaled a coming crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me tell you about Ashley. She was one of the smaller female plebes. Blond hair, blue eyes, great figure, she had been the homecoming queen for her high school. If I\u2019m any judge, she was beautiful.<\/p>\n

However, she was also spoiled. Don\u2019t get me wrong, she was my roommate and I genuinely liked her, but the pressures of plebe life got to her in a hurry. I mentioned the rack making problem before. That was only the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

There was more to summer than the Physical Exercise Program and keeping quarters dust-free. There was seamanship training. There was learning how to handle shipboard emergencies such as fires and leaks. There was marching in formation which included M-1 rifles and bayonets on occasion. And there was weapons training.<\/p>\n

When we returned from our first PEP, I was worn out, but both Ashley and Danielle were really dragging. I knew time was limited, so I got on both of them to hurry up. Danielle took it as if she knew it was important. Ashley, on the other hand, grumbled, \u201cLeave me alone. Can\u2019t you see I\u2019m dying here.\u201d<\/p>\n

I finally coaxed her into action that day and the next and the next \u2026 . I didn\u2019t welcome the job, but we were supposed to be a team so I kept it up. There were other minor breakdowns, but I regularly patted her on the back or hugged her and told her to hang in there. She did, but I could tell she was growing more and more frustrated. I hoped the first day of weapons training would bring some relief because it meant we skipped PEP. Instead, it brought a new problem.<\/p>\n

Ashley was still shaken. \u201cBut I really believed he had shot himself. How was I supposed to even touch a gun after that?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was talking about what happened in the gun safety briefing. As the trainer was telling us guns were dangerous and to be handled with the utmost care, a pistol went off. A midshipman near the front fell to the ground, and his gun skittered away. The trainer immediately ordered us to keep our seats and remain quiet, while the detailers converged on the fallen mid. The silence lasted only a short time. Then a buzz started. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d \u201cHis gun shouldn\u2019t have been loaded!\u201d \u201cHow bad is he hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

In a matter of minutes a siren announced an ambulance arriving. Everyone went silent again. The EMTs picked up the limp body, placed him on a gurney, and covered his face with a sheet. All the while, the head trainer kept emphasizing how we had all seen the importance of gun safety in action. \u201cYou see what can happen if you forget about safety for just a split second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, right as the gurney was about to be pushed into the ambulance, the supposedly dead mid sat up and waved to everyone. The reactions were everything from a loud sigh of relief to anger at having been played. We found out afterwards that he was an upper classman who volunteered to play the role, but an unforgettable impact had been imprinted on all of us.<\/p>\n

The rest of the day continued with training in disassembly and cleaning of the guns we would use, sight adjustment, how to hold and aim the gun, and range safety. Finally we got to actually fire the weapons.<\/p>\n

During the pre-fire gun handling I noticed that Ashley had problems immediately. It was as if she was afraid to touch the gun. The detailers got on her to hurry up, but that just made it worse. I finally had to intervene. Using the appropriate protocol to address the detailers, I got permission to talk to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay Ashley, here\u2019s the deal. Someday you may need your weapon to save your life or someone else\u2019s. It comes with the territory of being a naval officer. That means you need to know that your gun is going to work and work right. That\u2019s what we\u2019re learning here.\u201d\u2014Actually, I had already trained on the civilian version of the M9\u2014\u201cThink of it this way: as long as the gun is disassembled, the only way anyone can be hurt by it is if you throw it at them. You need to learn this, so grit your teeth and do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I guess my persistence with her over PEP was enough. She smiled at that image. She went back to work and finished the day. Her scores weren\u2019t impressive, but at least she completed the live fire.<\/p>\n

After her outburst in our quarters, I took her shoulders and turned her so I could see her eye to eye. \u201cBut you did it,\u201d I emphasized. \u201cYou faced that demon and overcame it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She grinned weakly and wiped away a tear trickling down her cheek. \u201cI did, didn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

But I knew I couldn\u2019t always be there for her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samantha has returned from her vacation and continues with her description of Plebe Summer. She had two roommates, Ashley Carr and Danielle Tennant. As the de facto room commander, she took a special interest in both of them. The first time at weapons training signaled a coming crisis. Let me tell you about Ashley. She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSamantha \u2013 Weapons Training - The Oath Still Stands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-weapons-training\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Samantha \u2013 Weapons Training - The Oath Still Stands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Samantha has returned from her vacation and continues with her description of Plebe Summer. 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Samantha persisted in watching her progress until it came to a head after a particularly bad day at the obstacle course. The rope climb at the end of the course\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":196,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-plebe-summer-begins\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":1},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Plebe Summer Begins","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"July 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At this point I could make an excuse that Samantha was too busy to get another episode to me, but to tell the truth my research left a lot of holes. I finally decided I would just have to be vague where I didn\u2019t know the details. Samantha got through\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":198,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-wilson\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":2},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Wilson","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"August 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Samantha\u2019s plebe summer was a challenge from the start, but Lance Wilson had hit her stubborn button. She wasn\u2019t about to be beat down by a bully. She worked with everything she had to make sure he didn\u2019t have any excuse to put her down. Every time he criticized her,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":216,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-herndon-monument\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":3},"title":"Samantha \u2013 Herndon Monument","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"October 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the traditions of the Naval Academy is the Herndon Monument Climb. It takes place at the end of the plebe year and serves as a rite of passage for the plebes. When the climb is successfully completed, the freshmen are no longer called plebes but \u201cfourth class midshipmen.\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":193,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-i-is-for-induction\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":4},"title":"Samantha \u2013 I is for Induction","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"July 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Induction Day at the Naval Academy is a production. It\u2019s specifically for in processing for midshipmen candidates. Their families and the incoming candidates have activities lined up that can keep them busy for the whole day. Samantha had prepared for it with her father\u2019s help. He had given her his\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":219,"url":"https:\/\/www.gordonsavage.com\/sowhat\/uncategorized\/samantha-itll-teach-teamwork\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":5},"title":"Samantha \u2013 It\u2019ll Teach Teamwork","author":"gordonsavage@msn.com","date":"October 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In high school Samantha had gotten into the playing pranks. She avoided anything that harmed someone else but didn\u2019t mind embarrassing them. Plebe year had been too tightly controlled for her to come up with something but short-sheeting Wilson\u2019s rack (bunk). Third class year was another matter. 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