There are about 200 here now at Ft. Jackson. Easily the most "diverse" group of folks I've been around in a long time. Day 4 assessment, most are genuinely deer in the headlights right now as the reality for many that they will be in theater in a matter of weeks has set in. Weapons immersion has most of us more concerned about the ability of some people to move about strapped. The females and heavier folks are generally in the hurt locker because of the temps and weight of gear. The range of experience of our group is as varied as you might expect as are maturity and levels of motivation/professionalism. Most are reservists. The utter lack of weapons familiarity is clearly a chasm that totally unnerves the drill sergeants but they conceal it well (mostly). More to come....I'm on weapons watch right now...oh the good news? We get 700 rounds each of 5.56 and several hundred on the M9.
Wow. I don't think I put more than about 150 rounds through my M4 and maybe 50 through my M9 at Fort Dix. Now exactly a high degree of experience considering I'd never shot a rifle before and had only shot a pistol twice before going there.