I am an "Expert Marksman"

I believe that once you have been certified as something you are always that something. I am a certified "Expert Marksman" Here is why.

They taught me to shoot a rifle in the Army. I already knew how to some extent, I was not unfamiliar with firearms, but I had no formal training. So they taught us to shoot and then after weeks of training we tested out. Over the course of a couple of days we had to go to various ranges and shoot at all sorts of targets at ranges from close up to far far away, and pop-ups and moving targets and just all sorts of things. They kept score of every trainee's shooting through the various rounds and at the end each of us was awarded a pin that indicated our shooting ability. I think there were three levels. The first level of attainment meant that it was reasonably safe to give you a gun. The second said that you could shoot the thing, and the third, the "Expert Marksman" badge meant you could probably hit something with it. I had won the top honor.

Before the shooting test by which I won this distinction took place I was given sage advice by an old Sargent. I credit him and his advice for my achievement. He said "always shoot at the closest target first". I did not know why he advised that, but I did as I was told, and low and behold the certificate and badge were mine. What I didn't know was part of the grading process included that the soldier-to-be pick out the most relevant threat and deal with it first. You have to do that to win. Find the thing that can hurt you and that you fear the most and eliminate it first. That is the credo of we "Expert Marksmen".

Why do you think Republicans attack targets Unions, the masses of poor, and Education first? That's a rhetorical question of course. They do it because those are the institutions they fear the most Unionization, Education, and anything that helps the poor to move up the economic ladder.

This Saturday late morning rant brought to you by a rainstorm that has me trapped in the house.

As they work very hard in multiple states to make it more and more difficult for certain groups of people to vote.

You're absolutely correct, in this country the only real threat of socialism has come with union activity (at least historically) so they are destroying them. And by "they" I mean Barack Obama.

But when the unions are gone, and no one can even afford to shop at WalMart, and everyone is riding a bike with a tent on the back (yes, I have a sense of humor), then what?

Then they will organize because that's what folks living on the street can do (and about the only thing they can do).

Then what will the status quo do? There are many more of us than them.

And then there are the 24/7 attacks against Democrats and President Obama that get over 200+ recs.... it doesn't take much to connect the dots.

I have no idea what would prompt someone to state that once you are trained with a rifle, you're always at that level, but he did.

So, I don't know what the devil your point is.

funky-assed marksman badge.

:evilgrin:


Or maybe it's because you don't understand the concept of humor.


Or maybe you're just trying to live up to your name.

Like you, my eyes are no longer good enough to pin the tail on the donkey at 400m. However, I see other things in much sharper relief than I once did, and I still remember to hit the closest target first.

The point is missed, and the analogy itself becomes the discussion... bizarre days.

I think there has been a gradual yet escalating shift away from metaphorical thinking and language to literal thinking and language over the last few decades. Not surprising since it's an immature way of viewing the world and the last few decades seem to have been dedicated to dumbing us down.

I had a political discussion with an old friend recently and she said Obama wanted to get rid of social security, medicare, police, firefighters, teachers... and that was a sure sign we're heading down the road to socialism, which is his ultimate goal.

She didn't have much to say once I pointed out that all of the things she mentioned were social programs and if there is such a thing, the core of socialism.

Dumbest thing I've heard in a long time, and it made me very sad. Idiots are being parroted, so everyone sounds like the same kind of idiot.

Still, I think they are a very loud minority. They are scared. They don't know enough not to be. We are all concerned, but they are over the top scared. They know they don't understand what they parrot, and that frightens them all the more.

Did you not bother to read the post in its entirety or just not understand it?

How about just having rec capability available to us? I love this post, by the way. Great insight.

Republications to steal votes.. they really cant win on any sort of credibility or history, they even had their Flying Monkeys the Supreme Court of the United States to appoint their presidential candidate to the presidency. a man who's only real job was was also stoled for him, by a man he affectionately called Turdblossom. a world renowned thief of the truth.

are they OCD psychotic narcissistic wealth/power hoarders and Wall Street gambling addicts.

anyone who would steal another persons Vote is a really special sort of sick narcissist, they should be made to ring a bell where ever they are.. especially while they are talking.

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Edited: original post was 110, now it's up to 118.

because shit heads abound, and you give them credence by complaining about them.

but whatever ...

about somebody giving 20M dollars to feed the poor, some shithead would unrec it. It is what it is.

They'll light our asses up with predator drones.

One time on the range! LOL

He said "always shoot at the closest target first".

I was never given a choice of which target to shoot first.

Silhouettes would pop up, sometimes one at a time, sometimes two or three at a time, and you had to shoot them all down before they ducked down on their own. So there might be one at 30 meters and one at 50 and one at 100 all at the same time.

That's all I asked.

It was fun to move the targets around when it was our turn in the butts, though.

Just considering the times its hard to imagine how they would have done it. Today with computers it would be easy, but fifty years ago it was a different thing. I suspect what they did was give the close popups a sorter duration or maybe just kept track of them separately and did it as a percentage of overall hits. Shit, I don't know. You can bet on one thing, they were not in the habit of sharing information with my miserable recruit butt. Curiosity, I quickly learned, was not often rewarded in the Army.

you're trapped in your own house by a measly rainstorm?

And when the GOP fail to take out anything that helps the poor move up the economic ladder, the banksters manufacture economic crises that come up with austerity measures to completely stomp the poor to death.

I gave it a rec. One day I will learn to give out my rants in a common sense way, as you do, instead of my profanity filled ones :D

Good stuff.

Always appreciated.

Exactly.

And we have a long long road of work ahead in order to bring things back. It won't happen in our lifetimes, if at all, I am afraid.

That was... er... right on the mark.

Shooting a gun is NOT like riding a bicycle. That is once you learn, you never forget.

Shooting is something you have to keep at regularly. I shoot between 2 and 3 thousand rounds a month. I travel all over the US shooting competitively in IDPA matches. When I take two weeks off to go on a vacation, it's like I've never shot a gun in my life when I come home. All over the place.

As to shooting the closest target first, that will get you killed. Sgt York demonstrated in 1918, while fighting the German Army, that you shoot the furthest target first and work to the closest. If you shot the closest first, then the rest would see it and take cover.

I went into the Army in 70 and this is what I was told to do.

I know this might be a little tough for a few of you to grasp but that little thing I wrote up there didn't have a thing in the world to do with guns, or with me, or with marksmanship either then or now. What I was pointing out was that the Republican attack on our society is aimed deliberately at some specific targets. Then I named them. See? The thing about the Army and the little medal and how the graded it, that was all from foggy memory, I had no intention of being exact about it. Think of it as a literary device, and if that doesn't ring a bell look it up, but that is what I used the shooting thing for, a literary prop, a way to get my story told. So, is that OK with you?

Don't know why your OP got so off point with other posters.

I was addressing the point he addressed from personal experience.

Expert was an easy ticket to eleven bravo and the Nam.


(Of course, you're right about the attacks on unions and other institutions.)

Now, my buddies on either side of me were awarded the sharpshooter badge. I always enjoyed sharing.

... with which I agree -- the Repugs attacking unions, teachers, medicare, medicade and just about all hard-won social programs.

But the term "Expert Marksman" caught my eye.

I enlisted in the U.S. Army back when Vietnam was getting really hot. Took basic at Fort Leonard Wood and qualified with rifle there.

At the time, there were these following qualifications:


Expert, you were damned good; Sharpshooter, good aim; and Marksman -- at least one could be trusted with the weapon. I missed Expert by a couple of points, so got the Sharpshooter medal.

Slightly OT but Army related: Do I recall you once saying you were ASA/NSA? If not, please disregard question.


(edit typo)

If I had just said I was an Expert everyone would have thought I was some sort of self serving blowhard, but by calling it Experty Marksman I had a way to get to my story without completely trampeling the language. You are correct, and the one I actually won was the Expert, the one with the Oak Leaf Cluster. I was actually a pretty good shot.

You were also right on the other end. I was ASA. However by the time I got out in 1970 it had really gone down hill. Somewhere around early '69 they must have lowered the standards to be invited in because we started getting some real morons, and a few of them draftees too.

Nice OP.

JC Penny $6.95

...that same advice applies to when "the enemy" infiltrates our camp, dons our uniforms, and speaks our language. Saying that they're "one of us." All the while sabotaging and picking off our compatriots from within. Dismantling the order of battle and disabling the infrastructure and our ability to respond.

Until we wake up one day and discover that our position has been overrun and the unit for all intents and purposes -- has been defeated.


- All from within.....

K&R

and! so very true.

Here in Wisconsin we see the perfect examples of Republican Marksmanship: go after the unions first, then voters (voter ID bills) and then education and then the grand prize: LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING. They have redistricted themselves into a permanent majority for at least the next 10 year...BULLSEYE

So right you are. I was a 22 year Teamster and know all about being in the sights of the moneyed rich through the conservative ground troops. Geez, I hate using warfare monikers, but it fits.

at the police academy. At the time it was not common for women to be in the class and the awarding of that "Expert Marksman" badge - which to this day I swear was only earned by dumb luck - made it really sweet. Good analogy with our current situation. The GOP will go after the low hanging fruit first because it's the easy target.

The poor are an easy target because they to not have the access and means to fight back effectively (money talks).

But setting that aside, what should progressives be aiming at? My foot is an easy and nearby target, but somehow I don't think that is a war winner - even though it seems to be popular these days.