I have been following this type of thread over the years and I can say from my personal experience that the military has had it wrong at least since 1956 when I joined the army at the tender age of 17. I fired more rounds through a M1 rifle in basic training than I did through any other issued weapon during my first 3 years in service.
During the first weeks of processing and basic I never had any ammo during guard duty. The first guard duty I was on I carried a clipboard, GI flashlight and a billy club. After that it was the M1 with or w/o fixed bayonet.
During the second phase of training including processing we were
only allowed to walk guard duty with either an empty carbine or one with a 15 round mag with 10 rounds in it. on prison chaser we used a 12 gauge shotgun after firing one qualifying round. We were never qualified with the carbine until shipping overseas.
In Germany
I was initially issued a M1 rifle and walked guard with it unloaded. The 8 rounds in the en bloc clip were kept in the first pouch of the web gear. Later I finagled a way around to get assigned a M2 carbine. Guard duty was 10 rounds in a 15 round mag again. Since I was in an Ordnance unit we were not issued any 30 round mags. We had to finagle a way to get those as well. Being in an ordnance unit made it easier of course.
Range training in Germany was a sometime thing so I found out. We were supposed to go twice a year and sometimes we actually did. More often than not we were given one half day at the range and the minimal amount of ammo to qualify with. I was a bit disgusted by this so I bought a .22 rifle and a .45 M1911 pistol and a Browning P35 in 9mm. I took to the range when ever I could work it out, usually on Sundays when I did not have duty.
All in all during those first three years I probably trained more with my personal firearms than I did with my issued ones. The Infantry got more training with their firearms for sure but service troops were basically ignored.
During a subsequent hitch in the USAF I got even less training and never fired a weapon untill I had been overseas in the PI for several months. The only reason I got to do that was because someone read in my service record that I had taken US Army basic training. I was assigned to a static defense force with the Supply Squadron I was assigen to. I found out that I had more knowledge about firearms than evne some of the APs assigen to protect the base. When we qualified on the range we were given about 20 rounds practice and then straight to the quals. When I was reassigned to Montana and Strategic Air Command I found myself assigned additional duty as a reserve cop for the AP Squadron. Again I found out that I had more knowledge of firearms than even the average AP at the time. On the range some guys would stand there and then turn around with the carbine in their hands to ask a question. Again I resorted to my own rifle and pistols to keep up with firearms training for myself.
After scouting around and finding no viable work in my home state I talked it over with my wife and since we had a 6 months old daughter at the time I decided to go back into service for another hitch in the army. I was ent to Fort ord in California again and ended up in the same processing barracks i had been in prior to basic some 7 years prior. Since there were a number of retreads from all branches of service we had to take the basic training test and qualify with the M14 rifle. I qualified expert and after a couple of weeks of "hurry up and wait" was sent to South Korea where I soon found myself being assigned as the only Ordnance parts clerk in a Hawk Missile unit.
I had taken a rifle/shotgun combo with me as well as a .22 ruger standard pistol. Considering that our secondary job after firing our missiles would be 11B we did not get much training with our rifles either. We were taken out to the range once or twice during my year there. Again I used my personal firearms to keep trained in shooting as well as hunting pheasant with a sgt. and WO3 I worked for.
After Korea I was sent to Fort Riley and the Big Red One. I was assigned as the lone Ordnance trained clerk in a HQ Company of a tank unit. We did manage to get to the range one with the .45 pistol and once with the M14 rifle while I was there before I was transferred to an Ordnance unit heading to RVN with the first brigade in the Fall of 65.
While on the pistol range I tried firing the army way and was missing too many targets. I decided that if I wanted to qualify and possible save my own life someday I needed some proactive action. I started using both hands on the pistol and all my targets were falling while other soldiers were hitting some and missing some. There was a grizzled old sargeant working the range and he stopped the action and came over and chewed me out for not using the old army way of shooting a pistol. I told him I was at least hitting my targets on the walking assault course and preferred to qualify anyway I could.
The Range Officer in the tower was a young 2nd Lt. who climbed down and came over and asked what was the matter and why the hold up?? The grizzled old sarge told him how this young kid was not using the proper army technique to shoot the .45 pistol. The lieutenant said did he knock down the targets? The sgt said yes and the lieutenant said thats why we are here so get on with it. I qualified that day and nothing more was said.
On the day we went to fire at the KD range with our M14s it started to rain and the wind came up. We were in trenches firing at pop-up targets and I got all but one or two of mine and one of those was a faulty target mechanism. Some of the troops wanted to head back and get out of the rain and wind but I figured that if we were in a combat situation it might rain also.
upon arrival by ship off Cape St. Jaques in Vietnam we went ashore by landing craft w/o a bullet issued to anyone. About 10 % of our unit had decided to carry a personal handgun with them and we at least had some ammo going ashore. For two weeks we were not issued any ammo and went through at least two shake downs. No guns or ammo were ever found.
When we drew our vehicles that had arrived before us and we were issued 100 rounds at 20 rounds per magazine for the M14. We were told to carry the rifle empty and not have any mags in the rifle unless ordered to do so. On the day our convoy headed out we were "allowed" to load our rifles and put the safety on before taking to the road.
During my tour of about one year we went out to fire our rifles one time and on New Years at midnight a whole lot of guys fired all the tracers they could at the jungle across the river. Eventually there was a registration and confiscation of personal firearms but we got them back before returing home.
During our stay, our CO came up with a bright idea that he would bury a CONEX container in the middle of our old French fort and then store all of our issued ammo in it. A few of us found out about it and it did not happen. Can you imagine trying to unlock a stell box and issue out ammo to the troops while under fire?? As it was I was the only soldier that refused the CO's order to unload my rifle one time when we came under sniper attack. That is another story for another time though.
remembers doing 50 pushups for dropping his rifle. 
:banghead:
