A post by Lt Col Charlie Brown reminded us that the Gulf War began on this day. I was in Readiness Group Snelling out of Minneapolis, and we were mobilizing NG and reserve units for the war. At Ft McCoy it was cold windy day with about a foot of snow on the ground. I and others on the early shift had been on the rifle range from 5:30 AM until 4 PM. The late shift was 10 AM to 8:30ish PM when night fire and cleanup were done. That day we had a MASH unit out of Detroit including three of the best neurosurgeons in the US, and the Pentagon wanted them in theater over there. So, they had to qualify with an M-16. The two men were in their 50s, one had fired an M-14, the other had never fired a weapon. The woman was 62, but a wizard in the operating room, and had never fired a weapon either. The OIC grabbed me, I’d been a drill sergeant, and gave those three to me with our own lanes on the right side of the firing line. I thought I was in for a long day, especially when it soon became apparent the woman, dressed in layers for the 10 degree cold and wind, needed assistance every time she got up from the prone position. (Believe me, the other guys later ribbed me unmercifully about my “girlfriend.”) However, I qualified all three of them Expert by noon, one of the best day’s work I’ve done. I had failed to take into account that surgeons routinely follow detailed instructions to do complex tasks involving a high degree of eye/hand coordination. All three of these guys were naturals on the shooting range.
Thanks for reminding me, Ma’am.