Word: marksmanship
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Muhammad's greatest talents was rewarded in the military: his aim. He advanced through three levels of Army marksmanship with the standard M-16 rifle, reaching the "expert" level. "You have to be pretty good," recalls Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam veteran, prizewinning writer and author of the novel July, July. "I didn't get one. There's a lot of tension, and there's pressure, and you're shaking. You have a drill sergeant yelling in your ear, 'Shoot straight!'" The Bushmaster .223 rifle, which was found in Muhammad's trunk and has been linked by police...
...Most of his medals were those the military awards for showing up rather than for singular acts of soldiering, although the exception was his Army Achievement Medal. (Officials have not yet explained what he had done to merit the latter.) But one area in which Muhammad shone was his marksmanship. Although he was never trained as a sniper, Muhammad's Marksmanship Badge carried an "expert" rating - earned by the ability to hit 36 out of 40 targets at distances ranging from 25 to 300 meters. He was also designated a hand-grenade specialist...
...serving in the Louisiana National Guard from 1978 to 1985, Muhammad served in the U.S. Army between November 1985 and April 1996, joining the Oregon National Guard in 1995. He trained as a machinist and combat engineer, according to military sources, and received a badge for his excellence in marksmanship. He never received formal sniper training. His police record is clean, the Associated Press reports, except for a few minor traffic violations in Washington...
Moore also looks within. In high school in Flint, Mich., he won a marksmanship award. He is an N.R.A. member who says he wanted to run against Heston for the presidency. He likes guns. He may hear echoes of his youth in the words of a Michigan militia member: "It's an American responsibility to be armed. If you're not armed, you're not responsible." The director is a little spooked by James Nichols, tofu farmer and brother of Oklahoma City bomber Terry, who shows Moore the loaded Magnum .44 under his pillow and points...
Critics, however, believe even the best arguments for guns are not good enough. "Pilots should concentrate on flying the plane," says an airline executive. Safety experts have questioned whether marksmanship standards will be stringent enough. Says Michael Wascom, an industry spokesman: "There are just too many questions to be answered before we rush to put deadly weapons into pilots' hands." Many rank-and-file pilots agree, contending that other changes, such as improving the passenger-profiling system, would do more to boost security. But given the political head of steam, such arguments may already be moot...