The Vision
It was April 2017
I was laying in the prone firing position on the M4 qualification range on Camp Dodge, IA. The entire battalion was conducting individual weapons qualifications that day. I didn’t have any supply convoys to run or training meetings to attend, all I had to do was shoot. It was a perfectly sunny, 70 degree day, which never happens on range days. The targets on the military range would randomly “pop-up” which was our signal to engage them. They would drop down if we hit them or the time ran out. This added to the realism and excitement that would give Soldiers a boost of adrenaline and urgency to hit their targets. This type of dynamic shooting range was far different from the static pieces of paper or steel gong targets that I normally shot at my range back home.