The Firing Range. 15,000 US Army life in the 50s. (standard:action, 14776 words)
Author: Oscar A Rat	Added: Jul 09 2020	Views/Reads: 1148/818	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
This is both fiction and a detailed description of Army Basic Training in the fifties, so please don't complain about all the descriptions. They should be interesting to former and current military.

In the '50s the "Known Distance", or KD range for short, at Fort Knox,
Kentucky, consisted of a series of Firing Lines set at regular 
intervals. They began at 1,000 inches, then 100 yards, 200 yards, 500 
yards, and finally 1000 yards – about half a mile. Those points lay 
down the length of a wide grassy field. A high dirt embankment extended 
across the far end, its purpose to catch and absorb any stray bullets. 

Immediately in front of the embankment were the "Pits," which consisted
of a trench maybe 10 to 12 feet deep. In it were a row of large wooden 
frames holding targets that could be raised above the surface by 
pulling on counterbalanced ropes. During use, paper targets were pasted 
onto the frames and raised on the command of a soldier manning a wired 
field telephone set. He received his commands from another man at a 
Command Tower behind one of the five Firing Lines. 

On command, the telephone operator would yell “Raise Targets,” whereupon
soldiers called "Spotters" assigned to each target would pull their 
ropes, somewhat in unison, bringing an un-holed target to the top of 
each frame, thus exposing it to a corresponding shooter on the Firing 
Line. After one or more shots were fired, the soldier in the Pits would 
lower the target and look for bullet holes. The Spotter would then 
place small stickers across the holes in his target to cover them for 
the next round. 

The Spotter would then pick up one of several long poles stacked against
a dirt wall behind each target frame. The poles were color-coded to 
show where in the target the shot had landed. A white circle on the tip 
of the pole stood for a bulls-eye or perfect shot, a red flag meant a 
complete miss called a “Maggie's Drawers”. Other colors and crossed 
circles were used for more minor hits. He would raise and wave the 
appropriate pole back and forth in front of his specific target, once 
for every shot fired by that individual shooter. That would show the 
shooter how accurate his shot or shots had been. Everyone in the Pits 
would then wait for the next "Raise Targets" command. 

Activity on the Firing Line itself was extremely regimented. It was the
only time a Basic Trainee was permitted to handle live rounds of 
ammunition. Before each firing exercise, the Trainee would go to the 
rear of the line and be issued whatever count of cartridges were needed 
for the coming exercise. He was constantly under the direct supervision 
of experienced NCO's and Officers. As a further check, he had another 
Trainee standing or lying right next to him on the Firing Line itself. 
There was no trust at all when handling live ammunition. 

The rifles were to be pointed only in one of two directions while there
-- either upward, or toward the line of targets. That rule was strictly 
enforced. Woe to the Trainee who transgressed. At the very least he 
would be chewed out and have to sleep with his rifle beside him on his 
bunk every night for a week or two. 

The Trainee would, after waiting in line to receive ammunition, go back
to his assigned position on the Firing Line. He was not allowed to load 
the weapon until ordered. The Trainee was not even allowed to pick the 
rifle up until instructed. There were many eyes on him to enforce those 
rules. 

When the time came, an Officer in the tower would order them to pick up
their weapons. They would be told what position to assume. There were 
only three firing positions which were: Standing, Kneeling, and Prone. 
The other Trainee, called a "Coach," would stand, kneel, or lie right 
next to them, to make certain the position was correctly assumed. On 
command, the coach would hand the firer his ammunition, which would 
then be loaded into the rifle -- also only on a direct command. The 
rifle, safety still on, would be aimed at his particular target with 
his finger off the trigger. Officers and NCO's would be walking back 
and forth along the Firing Line, watching closely, along with the 
Coach, of course. Corrections would be made. 

The Officer in the tower would then ask if everything was ready on the
Firing Line. When signaled by the Officer in charge of the Firing Line 
itself, he would give the order to “Commence firing, five rounds ball,” 
or the appropriate number. The Trainees would fire the requisite number 
of rounds at their individual targets. They would then place their 
weapons on the ground and wait, still in position, for the results. 



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