lessonslearned
Tell Your Story Military Officer seeks
Marksmanship
An impromptu prank during rifle qualification on the firing range at Fort Benning, Ga., has unanticipated consequences not only for the victim, but also for the perpetrator.
I
n 1966, I had just graduated from the Infantry Officer Basic Course (IOBC) at Fort Benning, Ga. My first assignment was as a platoon leader in a mechanized infantry battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. One of my duties in the new unit was as the battalion range officer on a known- distance firing range.
This is not an unusual assignment for
new lieutenants, and I enjoyed it. One of my classmates and good friends in IOBC also was assigned to this unit. It was well known throughout the battalion that this lieuten- ant was one of the best, if not the best, rifle marksman in the battalion. At that time, we were still armed with the United States Rifle, 7.62mm, M14, which fired 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) ammunition. One day, this lieutenant reported to
the range for rifle qualification and was assigned to fire on Point 24. Because of his reputation as a marksman, there were a number of people watching him, in- cluding the company commander and the battalion commander. He was firing at ranges of 100 meters, 300 meters, and 500 meters. He appeared too confident and too comfortable to me. I couldn’t resist — I picked up the land- line telephone from the tower to the pit and instructed the pit crew to give the lieutenant on Point 24 “Maggie’s draw- ers” on every shot. As most infantry soldiers of that era will
know, a red flag was waved in front of a target after firing to indicate the firer had
76 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2016
missed the target. That red flag was re- ferred to as Maggie’s drawers. After firing 10 rounds from the 20-
round magazine and getting Maggie’s drawers on each shot, the lieutenant jus- tifiably was surprised. After adjusting fire several times as he fired the last 10 rounds from the magazine, and still getting Mag- gie’s drawers, he left the range madder than a stepped-on rattlesnake. He was so mad he didn’t
fire the remaining magazines he was scheduled to fire on the course, and I thought it wiser not to tell him what I had done. (He subsequently refired successfully for qualification.) That day was also
my last as range of- ficer. I was told one of the new incoming lieu- tenants was being assigned as range officer to allow me more time with my platoon. But to this day, I’m not so sure that was really the rea- son. My friend, the former lieu- tenant, is now a retired colonel, and if he is a MOAA member, perhaps he will learn he really didn’t miss the target that day at Fort Hood.
MO
— Dr. Jerry D. Icenhower is a retired Army major general in Seabrook, Texas. He is a Life
Member of MOAA. For submission information, see page 4.
Because of his reputation as a marksman, there were a number of people watching him.
service-related anec- dotes that left an im- pression. See Directory on page 4 for submis- sion information. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
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