Not everyone in ready for combat training. When I went through basic training (boot camp) my company was comprised of three platoons of male trainees, and one of females. Most of the females quickly adpted, some slowly adapted, and a few had a difficult time. While in the final stages of marksmenship training one female complained that her weapon must be broken -- "It just won't fire. I don't know what is wrong, it fired this morning." The DI asked for the weapon, tried it, and found she did not lie. It had ammo, but would not fire. He field-stripped the weapon on the spot and discovered the problem. The M-16 was an example of a perfectly fine weapon that was short one thing, a firing-pin. The DI had her retrace her steps, to everywhere she had been that day. She found it, just where she had last cleaned her rifle. She managed to make it through boot camp despite herself. This is a true story.
When I was in the RAF, the main personal weapon was the 7.62mm SLR! It had various stoppages, one of which was a "gas stoppage", the remedial action for this was to turn the cover on the gas post down to reduce the size of the hole! One day on exercise with TCW, my det came under attack and Paul Gough, who was on the team was firing away and suddendly shout that he had a stoppage. I shouted back to tell him to do the gas stoppage drill. he kept on saying that he could only operate the weapon by cocking it everytime! I ran over crabbed his rifle and gave him mine. As soon as I looked at the gas plug, I noticed that he had turned the cover the wrong way and had opened the gas hole!
