Friday, January 14, 2005
Too wet/windy/cold to train?
Well this morning did not start off well. We knew that it was supposed to rain today, but we were hoping for a light drizzle with minimal wind. What greeted us as we stepped off the bus at the rifle range was a torrential, sideways downpour. Rain isn't so bad, we have Gore-Tex jackets and pants, but when it's coming in so hard that it's stinging your face that just sucks. The best jacket in the world won't keep you dry then.
Being the Marine Corps, we pressed on. Despite the stinging cold and the 30 MPH wind gusts, we pressed on to the range. Any other service would call it off, these are terrible conditions for shooting. I'm not saying that the Marine Corps is hardcore or better than those other services, maybe that indicates that we're just a little more dense. Make your own conclusions.
We started firing with the wind gusting and driving the rain into every crevice and weakness of our jackets. Our data books (book you record your shot data in) and our score cards were soaked within minutes. My pen stopped working after three shots and my partner who shoots on the relay before me stopped writing because her book was so soaked that it was just tearing as she tried to write in it. We had plastic bags to put over everything, but it doesn't matter, the water will get in.
I was actually shooting well. I wasn't happy with my 200 yard slow fire, but my rapid fire was my best all week. All ten rounds were 5s. On the rapid fire I was too concentrated on what I was doing to feel the effects of the rain and cold. During the slow fire, however, I was shivering too hard to shoot at times. I had to wait for a lull in the wind, stop my shivering, and then fire.
After we completed the 200 yard line and walked back to the 300, we were all laughing and getting used to the conditions. I felt pretty good about shooting expert despite the conditions. We thought we were going to go ahead and finish the rifle range, nothing we have ever experienced in our time in the Marine Corps would lead us to believe that we would not. Then Colonel Laster, the commander of TBS, drove up.
Apparently he felt that it was not wise for us to press on through these conditions. We were all soaked and the temperature is dropping rapidly. It was 56 degrees this morning, it will be 44 by 4pm. The Colonel and our CO, Major Foley, felt that it was not wise for us to press on because the point of the rifle range is to demonstrate our marksmanship skills, not to prove how hard we are. As Maj. Foley said, "You will have plenty of chances to prove yourself in the elements in the next five months."
So we'll go at it again on Monday. No rain on Monday, but the temp in the morning will be 15 degrees, rising to a balmy 36 degrees by the afternoon. Gotta love Virginia.
Being the Marine Corps, we pressed on. Despite the stinging cold and the 30 MPH wind gusts, we pressed on to the range. Any other service would call it off, these are terrible conditions for shooting. I'm not saying that the Marine Corps is hardcore or better than those other services, maybe that indicates that we're just a little more dense. Make your own conclusions.
We started firing with the wind gusting and driving the rain into every crevice and weakness of our jackets. Our data books (book you record your shot data in) and our score cards were soaked within minutes. My pen stopped working after three shots and my partner who shoots on the relay before me stopped writing because her book was so soaked that it was just tearing as she tried to write in it. We had plastic bags to put over everything, but it doesn't matter, the water will get in.
I was actually shooting well. I wasn't happy with my 200 yard slow fire, but my rapid fire was my best all week. All ten rounds were 5s. On the rapid fire I was too concentrated on what I was doing to feel the effects of the rain and cold. During the slow fire, however, I was shivering too hard to shoot at times. I had to wait for a lull in the wind, stop my shivering, and then fire.
After we completed the 200 yard line and walked back to the 300, we were all laughing and getting used to the conditions. I felt pretty good about shooting expert despite the conditions. We thought we were going to go ahead and finish the rifle range, nothing we have ever experienced in our time in the Marine Corps would lead us to believe that we would not. Then Colonel Laster, the commander of TBS, drove up.
Apparently he felt that it was not wise for us to press on through these conditions. We were all soaked and the temperature is dropping rapidly. It was 56 degrees this morning, it will be 44 by 4pm. The Colonel and our CO, Major Foley, felt that it was not wise for us to press on because the point of the rifle range is to demonstrate our marksmanship skills, not to prove how hard we are. As Maj. Foley said, "You will have plenty of chances to prove yourself in the elements in the next five months."
So we'll go at it again on Monday. No rain on Monday, but the temp in the morning will be 15 degrees, rising to a balmy 36 degrees by the afternoon. Gotta love Virginia.
// posted by Josh @ 1/14/2005 10:18:00 AM 
