[Webstral]

This is a little tangential, but the comment about practice resonated with me. The US Army has huge sums of money for all kinds of marginal frippery, but the Army gets very stingy when it comes to ammunition for practicing. It's absurd. The Army would rather ship mountains of ammunition into combat areas than fire half a mountain in training deep in the rear. How many casualties are caused by rifle fire is only one consideration. Soldiers who are confident in their ability to handle their primary weapon are better soldiers in general as a result. Confidence and the habits instilled by constant training yield major dividends when the soldier is subjected to the stress of combat. A little ammunition goes much further when the rifleman has been habituated to firing aimed shots.

We've had this discussion about having a Marksmanship Corps and a Physical Fitness Corps so that the fundamentals of soldiering are being taught by people dedicated to nothing else, so I won't belabor the point here.