Story #2061

During BCT (Basic Combat Training) in 1970, we went to the QuickFire range, where you were taught to shoot a 1.5″ metal disk that was tossed in the air with a BB gun. You quickly shouldered the Daisy BB gun when the disk was tossed a few feet in the air by the guy next to you, and just instinctively pointed and fired. Surprisingly, it worked, and by the end of the day nearly every troop was scoring regular hits. My PSG DS was a muscular black man from Chicago; a Vietnam vet with jump wings and a CIB. Unlike most of the DSs, he was a good-natured guy who took no shit, but didn’t go out of his way to give you a hard time. He and his Asst DS (another Vietnam Infantry combat vet) were always joking to us about the other leg PSGs who were jumping around, trying to breath fire at recruits.

Anyway, we’re out on this range, and the ROTC butterbar who was our platoon leader shows up to “inspect the training.” My DS starts going down the line, quietly saying he’d give $5 to someone to shoot the LT in the ass with a BB. One of the guys was brave enough, and while the firing line was shooting disks, puts one right into the LT’s ass. His narrow ass went ballistic over this, and started to scream at us for daring to fire at an officer, but our DS started hollering, “Look out, men… some of those BBs are ricocheting!” and the LT bought it. After he left, the DS pulled out a $5 bill from his wallet and paid off… big money when you’re making about $80/month.