Our pits were concrete tubes in the ground. We'd been given our block of instruction on range safety: nobody was to leave their pit until the range was declared safe and the order was given to go downrange to retrieve our paper targets. This was, after all, our first go-round with the M-16, not the qualification round, where others would roll the targets up and down.

We had loaded three clips of five rounds and one of 20 rounds for introduction to automatic fire. We began to fire our first clip. Eventually the popping died down, but the range had not been declared safe.

One poor fool, Thibodeaux, got out of his pit and began to walk downrange. Our platoon's drill sergeant, SSGT McFarlane, strange, wiry little Ranger constantly hepped up on amphetamines, grabbed Thibodeaux and pulled him back, heaping the most godawful invective on that hapless Cajun.

SSGT McFarlane seized Thibodeaux's weapon, popped in the 20 round clip, pulled Thibodeaux's helmet off, threw it downrange a few meters and lit up the helmet.

All hell broke loose. Eventually the range was declared safe, whereupon Thibodeaux was made to retrieve his helmet, now punctured like a colander. SSGT McFarlane made him wear that helmet for the rest of the day. SSGT McFarlane was given some sort of reprimand, but he remained our drill sergeant.

SSGT McFarlane was a tool of Satan.

It's Lee Harvey Oswald's actual December, 1956 USMC rifle range qualification book...on eBay.

The auction takes place at 11AM today (PST) and the estimated sale price is "$30,000.00 to $50,000.00".

The Full Metal Jacket clip is on YouTube, I notice. There was also some pretty good old (50's/60's vintage) clips.

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham