Evening star., 1943-03-22
fFourth OF a SerieS.j
By WALTER McCALLUM.

BY WALTER McCALLUM.
CAMP GORDON JOHNSTON,
Carrabelle, Fla, March 22.-There
is no secret about the fact that the
Army. in advance training of troops
already toughened for the toughest
test OF all-actual combat--is using
live ammunition and fire from care
fully fixed machine guns under
which the troops advance in simu-
lated inflltration tactics. I've seen
some of these courses using live stun
and there isn't any danger-if the
doughboy keeps his head down and
doesn't peek If he does it's just too
bad. But he doesn't. You don't
raise your head when the bullets
zip and zing few inches over your
steel helmet.
I've gone through the infiltra-
ton course" said 4 one star general.
TITS tough, but it isn't as tough
as it is going to be in battle. We
haven't had \ casualty OF any kind
here"
He stood on the edge OF the
palmetto-covered infiltration course
here at Camp Gordon Johnston. Far
down the mud-covered field the
posts holding the barbed wire showed
white In the sunshine, their tops
chewed of by machine gun fire.
Tops of the palmetto scrub had
been eaten OF. The ground was
muddy and SCARED with shell holes
and bitches. The guns are fixed to
fire 80 inches above the ground"
explained captain. Thirty inches
is pretty high. A crawling man uses
little more than a foot of ground
We have to teach the men to keep
their feet and heads down"
Water Filled Shell Holes.
On platforms set high above the
ground are umpires. They set of
the dynamite charges in water-fill
she'll holes as the troops crawl
through the 150-yard course, shower
ing them with mud while bullets
zip over their heads. The men come
out covered with mud and water, but
they come out. all of them.
Battle is thousand times tougher
than this" the officer said This is
child's play compared with an enemy
really trying to kill you. He'll shoot
low or high, anywhere. These guns
shoot only at 4 fixed height"
From nearby area came staccato
bursts OF sudden fire, breaking of
quickly and suffering into action
again. We went over with the officer
guide. Down between walls OF vege-
tation ran a thinly defined trail
Men advanced slowly, cautiously
down it. Suddenly from the thick
scrub, 10 yards away, uprose figure.
Jap face painted on it. The SOL
dier whirled and hred his Garand
from the hip in quick burst. The
target fell.
This is the course we call firing
on targets OF opportunity" said a
captain. We teach the technique
Of firing rines from the hip without
taking aim. spreading lot Of lead
in and around the target. These
figures are actuated by wires of
tiiCic III tIle JuIl8it lHcf pOp up
at unexpected intervals The troops
get pretty good at puncturing those
targets without aiming"
Men Fast on the Draw.
The Garand rife fires 4 string OF
shots rs fast rs you can pull the
trigger. 1t comes fairly close to
machine-gun speed. The men were
fast on the draw and quick on the
trigger. In the jungle you don't
have time to get set and take aim
You have to fire Immediately, or the
enemy will
Have you ever fred 4 machine
gun from the hip?" asked the cap
tain. We hadn't. He showed how,
explaining the hold of the left hand
on the gun barrel A target popped
up, and we pulled the trigger, as
blast OF bullets pumped into the tar
get and sprayed the underbrush
around it, You were little high"
the captain laughed. That's the
tendency. See your bullets kicking
up the dirt under the target and
then raise the muzzle.' It worked
that time.
The American soldier, given time
TO take aim, Is the worlds best rife
shot. Medals won at Wimbledon, in
Sweden. Norway, and in the national
matches at Camp Perry by men of
the Army and the Marine Corps
testify to the accuracy OF Americans
with firearms
But he doesn't need TO stand up
and take aim, or even to take the
prone position. He can shoot from
the hip at targets Of opportunity At
dimly seen targets looming thin
through dense undergrowth The
training is n part OF the lessons of
Guadalcanal and New Guinea. 1t
will be used in many areas over the
world, where the enemy will learn
the soldier OF the United States
Army doesn't have to raise his rifle
to The shoulder to fire effectively.
Hand Grenade Course.
In another area troops OF ia
nous unit were going through the
hand grenade course, previously
having taken the hurdles OF one OF
the toughest obstacle courses we've
seen in ramblings around many
Army training areas. These men,
using 4 combination OF the baseball
throw and the basket ball toss, we're
good at landing srenades on the
target.
A sergeant 40 yards away had to
Jump out of range as a shower of
unloaded grenades whizzed by his
head. The normal distance Of the
grenade throw is IS yards The
wicked thing has a killing radius OF
about IS yazds. The technique is