Fantastic scene. The detail with the equipment and how it would interfere with fighting really puts into perspective the difficulty of something as simple as drawing/shooting a bow. Wiredly, this was my favorite chapter so far.
As a retired army noncommissioned officer, I agree, this chapter resonated greatly with my life experiences. Training is literally the heart and soul of our job as sergeants. I swear I could hear Drill Sergeant Ho’s acid wit in that guy’s voice.
Excellent point on the archery skill aspect at the beginning of the chapter. I can’t count how many new privates I’ve seen, coming from rural areas especially, boasting of their shooting and hunting experience and how marksmanship should be “so easy”.
There is a world of difference between hunting deer with a 10x scope, or shooting on a civilian firing range, and rifle marksmanship with iron sights while wearing body armor and helmets, not to mention the added stress of timed completion and the shooter having to shift targets when they pop up. And that’s just talking about the training! Real combat is an order of magnitude worse.
Typos/word choice recommendations:
He stumbled out to the side where his fellow recruits were getting figuring out how to wear the armor.
Getting —> gathering, or remove word entirely
The greaves were too long that they jabbed the tops of his feet.
Fantastic scene. The detail with the equipment and how it would interfere with fighting really puts into perspective the difficulty of something as simple as drawing/shooting a bow. Wiredly, this was my favorite chapter so far.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this one, thanks!
As a retired army noncommissioned officer, I agree, this chapter resonated greatly with my life experiences. Training is literally the heart and soul of our job as sergeants. I swear I could hear Drill Sergeant Ho’s acid wit in that guy’s voice.
I had a similar feeling. In the movies there'd be a montage and he'd pick it up in 15 minutes. This makes it seem so much more real.
Excellent point on the archery skill aspect at the beginning of the chapter. I can’t count how many new privates I’ve seen, coming from rural areas especially, boasting of their shooting and hunting experience and how marksmanship should be “so easy”.
There is a world of difference between hunting deer with a 10x scope, or shooting on a civilian firing range, and rifle marksmanship with iron sights while wearing body armor and helmets, not to mention the added stress of timed completion and the shooter having to shift targets when they pop up. And that’s just talking about the training! Real combat is an order of magnitude worse.
Typos/word choice recommendations:
He stumbled out to the side where his fellow recruits were getting figuring out how to wear the armor.
Getting —> gathering, or remove word entirely
The greaves were too long that they jabbed the tops of his feet.
too —> so
Thank you for the real life example, good to know I was on the right track with it being a different skill altogther.
Many thanks for the word spotting, missed those in the edits. Something always slips through.