As I dived in the world of military, I have already anticipated that Firing would be a part of my training. I have seen firearms before and heard it fired from a distance during a fiesta in a neighboring barangay to stop a commotion. There were ways to stop a fight but that was how they choose to handle it.
Anyway, it happened a long time ago. I can barely recall how loud it sounds like when you pull a trigger of a gun. However, at this day of our lives, we will be figuring it out for ourselves. The smallest firearm that a Navy can carry is an M16 A1 Rifle. I have heard some rumors before that it hurts when it recoils every time it fires. Just thinking about it the night before, I was nervous if I can handle it since my body build weren't built for this thing.
Earlier that day, we gathered in a jeepney terminal because the plan was to set off together since we were not familiar with this Firing Grounds.
It was planned that we would be meeting up here at 6:00 am and set off around 6:30 am, but the others were late. We waited for them and looked for a vehicle for rent to give us a ride back and forth. A Van driver took the offer and sent us all there as soon as we were all complete.
Surprisingly, we were not the only ones who was going to train. There were also those police officers. It looked like they were there for days ahead of us. We were just passing by for a few hours, and not making any inconvenience to them.
Before we proceed and touch anything, instructions first. We have disassemble and assemble this firearm before and were familiar already on how this thing works. Yet, having to fire it yourself and hear it loudly up close, gave us these little shocks. Not that traumatizing in a way, just enough to have goosebumps for a while.
The targets in the distance were set by the people in each firing sessions. The guns were loaded and placed in the firing area. This was only our firing familiarization exercise. We didn't need to shoot all of the targets point but just have to learn to different firing positions and made ourselves familiar with its intensity when fired with live ammunition.
It was defeaning every time it was fired. How much more when the (7) of you pulled the trigger side by side for 15 rounds? I thought I would lose my hearing at that point. It came back eventually, maybe just half an hour after I finished all of my rounds and I got used to its loudness.
That was me in prone and sitting position. I was aiming as if I could see the targets at the distance clearly. When honestly, all I saw was the bright lights beamed from the sun making the targets shinier in my eyes, and somehow its reflection hurts. Looking cool, but in reality, I was just shooting blindly out there. Well, I was just lucky to hit one spot in the end.
Most of us were first-timers here, it was surely natural not hit any spot in the target. Some were like me who is visually impaired, and some are normal but never hit any spot. I almost sulked in the corner for not hitting a lot of spots but felt better upon knowing that there were people who didn't hit any.
The seniors showed off their firing skills after our turns. We were amazed upon knowing that one of them is a hero of Marawi. He is a sniper and one of those men in the front lines fighting the rebels. A snappy salute for the likes of him indeed and for those people who are risking their lives to save other people's lives everyday. It's an honor to learn from them.
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