did anyone have this type of drill while in service ?

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“Night infiltration course” was what they called it.

For us they decided to make it extra fun and not allow us to use NODs. Also could have been they didn't want them broken/lost/getting caught on the wire obstacles. Either way, made it less pleasant.

I'm trying to figure out how laying down is a good tactic if contact has been made.

Make yourself as small a target as possible. Cover and concealment is not a guarantee. You aren't always going to move through a wooded area with trees, brush, and elevation cuts to hide you from enemy fire. So the next best thing is to drop to your stomach and slither like a snake. The low crawl is so low you are often literally dragging your helmet along the dirt.
 
I'm trying to figure out how laying down is a good tactic if contact has been made.
When you first come under fire, you know only one thing -- no high-speed metal particles have passed through the space you occupy. So quick, reduce the space -- by lying down.

The drill when you come under fire is:

1. Take cover.
2. Locate the enemy
3. Return fire
4. Locate the men on your right and left.
5. Relay orders and information.
 
I have heard all kinds of stories from service members about live fire exercises. Most involved machine guns that were either firing blanks or live rounds way over head on a machine gun that had the barrel locked onto a certain trajectory so there was a very low chance of actually shooting anyone. The story i always heard was that the guy doing the shooting also had some special training and was watched closely by a superior. What I was told suggests to me that in many cases the live fire rounds were not even being fired overhead but off to the side. The sound they make though even off to the side is enough to give at least some amount of realistic training.

The minor explosions and fires set off just add to the chaos.

One guy I used to shoot with claimed that one live fire course they had people running had a SGT with a pellet rifle who would ding people in the ass when they stuck them up in the air. I was suspicious that this was just a story and not something that ever actually happened.
 
I have heard all kinds of stories from service members about live fire exercises. Most involved machine guns that were either firing blanks or live rounds way over head on a machine gun that had the barrel locked onto a certain trajectory so there was a very low chance of actually shooting anyone. The story i always heard was that the guy doing the shooting also had some special training and was watched closely by a superior. What I was told suggests to me that in many cases the live fire rounds were not even being fired overhead but off to the side. The sound they make though even off to the side is enough to give at least some amount of realistic training.

On a tripod, there is a doohicky called a Traversing and Elevation (T and E) device. Essentially it locks the weapon so the barrel does not go too far left/right/up/down. It is very useful when setting a fixed position to establish interlocking fields of fire with a gun team to your left or right. It does not require much special training to use or set. Most people learn how to set a field of fire in about an hour of instruction.

One guy I used to shoot with claimed that one live fire course they had people running had a SGT with a pellet rifle who would ding people in the ass when they stuck them up in the air. I was suspicious that this was just a story and not something that ever actually happened.

Pellet gun is unlikely. However a paintball gun is possible. Some units get their hands on M16/M4 paintball gun replicas to add a level of realism to force on force training.
 
In Basic or Boot Training, for Army and Marines, you have to crawl under live fire delivered by machineguns. Preset explosive charges are also set off as you crawl along under barbed wire through cold, muddy water. If you lose something, you have to turn around, under fire, and go back to get whatever it was you lost. Trust me, it's lots of fun. (Sarcasm off.)
 
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