NIACT

Well I'm not sure what NIACT stands for exactly but it is basically three weeks of weapons and combat training at Camp McCrady (Ft. Jackson) in Columbia, SC taught to Navy sailors by Army drill sergeants; therefore, we call it NArmy training.  When I arrived I was assigned to the female barracks with about forty other girls from junior enlisted to mid level officers.  In the next few days we received all of our gear which included a M9 pistol, a M16 rifle, and fifty pounds worth of body armor.  We were popping Motrin for back pain on a regular basis!

Here is how I looked most days (kinda like a teenage mutant ninja turtle).

There were people preparing to go to Djibouti as well as Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere in between.  We received a lot of excellent training here by some fantastic drill sergeants.  I qualified as a marksman on the M9, shot pop-up targets with the M16, to fire a weapon under stress, how to clear a room (like a SWAT team doing a raid), how to get out of a humvee if it rolls over, and tons of other training I could never have imagined.  As expected, I was good at some things and not so good at others.  But I did receive some comfort when people would say, "Doc, if we're ever to the point that YOU'RE shooting the weapons, we're in serious trouble."  Still, I gave everything my best effort out of respect for those that have to use this training daily for survival and to protect our country.  Hoo-rah!

Here's a pic of the stress shoot exercise.  It's not as easy to hit the target with someone screaming in your ear!