" A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

- Albert Einstein

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With each day, they were becoming more of a company of women who wanted to change the course of war and course of women involved. They were learning to work together as a unit and to function as a whole. Lieutenant Wilson approached Hazel one day as she sat on her bed alone reading.

" Corporal Parker?" she heard a voice ask and she looked up at him.

" Sir." she said as she slowly stood and saluted him.

" You're training as an experimental sniper, correct?" Wilson asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod and Wilson smiled.

" Great, follow me." he said and Hazel turned and grabbed her helmet before following Wilson out, giving the women some confused looks as she left. Catherine and Lizzie watched her go in confusion, but earnestly awaited her return. Maybe she was finally receiving the gun that was so long talked about for her.

Hazel felt the wind knock out of her when the Sergeant who ran the weapon distribution, turned around with a huge rifle in his arms. Wilson had sent her to the depot, telling her that he would meet her at the rifle range. The Sergeant, under the name Goode, looked at her and then sighed.

" This here is the M1903A4 Springfield, formally the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903. It comes with a five-round magazine fed and it's a bolt-action rifle. You can an average of 10-15 rounds per minute and you can shoot up to 1,100 yards for effectiveness and 5,500 yard for your max. It can have a bayonet attachment on the front, but with you being considered a sniper at the moment, you're best bet will be a scope attachment, specially crafted. Now, usually the Marine Corps are the ones that use this weapon, but Sink got it approved for you. Now it is mighty close to the M1903A3, which is standard for the Marines, but what have you been firing with?" he asked her.

" The M-1." she answered.

" Right, well, this will benefit you more in the long run as a form of a sniper rifle. M1903A3's were made initially at the start, but transformed into M1903A4's for a form of a sniper rifle in your case. Now, the Army, we don't have traditional sniper rifle's, but by attaching this here scope, a Weaver Model 330C, will give you 2.75x telescopic sight. Now, you're really the first one in the Army to be using this sort of thing, but it's more of a test run to see how it works. It's not officially adopted yet, but it's the best we've got for your position and Sink, from the 506th, wants it to work in your favor." the Sergeant explained to her.

" Yes, sir." she answered. The weapon was a brownish, tan colored weapon and the scope was attached on the Redfield mount, so it could be removed and attached again for cleaning by the looks of it. However, when the Sergeant threw it into her arms, it knocked the wind out of her as she struggled to hold it upright.

" You get used to that weight, now, Corporal." The Sergeant told her and she nodded. It was weird, unlike the M-1 at all, and the girth it was carried at, even though similar, had a very different sleekness to it. It was different from the other Springfield's she saw, this one designed for her capabilities.

" Lieutenant Wilson's down there that'll show you how to use the weapon," the Sergeant told her as she looked up at him and nodded.

" Thank you, sir." she said and then headed down towards the shooting range, under the hot southern heat. She looked back to the weapon in her hands. She knew this weapon would be hers and hers only and she'd be the only one to use it. She needed to know how it worked and all the ins and outs. Because at the moment this weapon was the newest of its brand and not entirely reliable.



Hazel went up to the field where she saw Lieutenant Wilson standing. Lieutenant Wilson stood looking up towards a few of the Blue Mountain tops that were visible from the shooting range, from under the brim of his helmet, keeping the heat from his head.

" Corporal Parker," he called out when he noticed the girl coming towards him the large weapon in her hands.

" Sir," she said as she approached and glanced down at the weapon. She put the weapon on her shoulder and then saluted him before he saluted back and she dropped it.

" You're probably wondering why today's the day I brought you out here, right?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she was very curious as to why.

" First version of the weapon you are using the M1903A4 was finally authorized for use and Captain Thermes was one of the top names on the list, courtesy of Colonel Sink of the 506th, who received the weapon for you. He knew of the importance it would eventually be to you." Wilson explained to her.

" Yes, sir."

" Do you know about the weapon?" Wilson asked her.

" No, sir, not about this weapon. My father used to hunt with his own weapon, more particularly with a scope to see better and it helped a lot." she explained.

" How'd you get here then?" he asked her. It wasn't condescending though, he seemed curious.

" I was a part of the WAC," she stated with a small nod, " But then I applied, for Operation Virago, and got accepted and placed into the training. Then I'm going to take my 5 jumps and earn my Jump Wings."

" Well, your training has been exceptional these past few weeks, you'll succeed." Wilson told her with a smile.

" Thank you, sir." she said with a small smile and Wilson grinned at her.

" So, wanna get to know this thing?" he asked her pointing to her weapon.

" Yes, sir." she answered.

" Did Sergeant Goode explain to you back there what the weapon was?" Wilson asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said.

" And I'm assuming, since you said you can shoot, that you are comfortable with that? With the amount of recoil?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said, " My father's weapon had a good amount of recoil as well."

" Interesting, well, let me just show you the parts then and then we'll practice some shots." he explained and she nodded. He began explaining the different parts of the weapon to her such as where to put the magazine, where the rear sight assembly was, the trigger, the cut off, the safety lock, the bolt handle, the barrel, the stock. Everything. Hazel listened intently. She was someone that always listened because she had been there before where nobody ever listened to her, only her mother.



Listening was important and sometimes not saying a word was most beneficial.

" Ok, Corporal, think you're ready to shoot it off, see how it works?" he asked her.

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod. The Lieutenant offered a smile, before turning and looking at the range.

" This here's the shooting range. You might only visit a few times because your main focus here is training, physically for this." he explained to her and she nodded.

" Right, well, first, we're gonna move from standing, to crouched, to on an object, to the ground, various positions you should be familiar with." he told her. Hazel nodded; but it also peaked her interest about why he was being so patient and nice with her.

" Sir, I have a question." she asked him. Wilson looked at her from where he was pulling his weapon from his shoulder.

" Why are you being so patient with me, sir?" she asked him softly, her voice wavering. This was a stretch, she knew the question was a stretch. Wilson smiled at her and then looked out at the range.

" Many guys weren't exactly happy about women joining the military in general, the idea, I'm sure you knew that," Wilson said to her, and she nodded, " I'm not like that. You're a human, you're a soldier, someone willing to fight. I don't think past that. Showed up my friends in the Army with it all when I applied to help train you all." Hazel smiled. And some leaders were like that. If you were a body and could shoot a gun they wanted you.

" Yes, sir." she said with a nod.

" Right, so bring up your weapon, putting the butt into your shoulder." he told her. Hazel slowly lifted the weapon in her arms, and adjusted it into the dip in her shoulder between chest and shoulder bone.

" Now, since you're a tiny thing, you'll have to work harder to make sure you have a better grip on the weapon than a regular M-1, which you've worked with for some time." he explained to her and she nodded.

" Place your left hand, positioned near the barrel of the gun, to hold it steady and your other hand, the right one, will be moving between trigger and the bolt handle. When your round is done, you move your hand up there to get those rounds out, they're dead. You take this," he showed her a round and then stuck it into where the spring would be pushed back to hold the magazine, " and you put it in there." She nodded.

" Now, I know you've shot some weapons before, but that things got a nasty recoil, and if you don't control, your shoulder'll shoot back and you'll lose control and lose an eye." Hazel was not losing an eye.

" You want a grounded stance, you want to be ridged almost, like you're touched in the shoulder and you won't move." he told her and she nodded.

" So now, look out there," she looked out towards the range toward a few targets not too far away.

" You'll be looking through a scope, with magnified vision, unlike the others who are using M-1's or Thompsons with no scopes. You'll have to get use to the level of degrees you can change from, up to your magnified level of 2.75x your vision." he told her.

" Lay your cheek on the pad a bit, and get a good distance away from the scope that you can still look through, but not be uncomfortable for your eye to look through." he told her. Hazel gently rested her cheek against the pad of the weapon, and got a good look through the scope.

" Now the scope isn't waterproof, it gets foggy in the humidity, and sometimes it is hard to switch from different levels of scope depth, but once you work out the kinks and stuff it'll get easier to work with." Wilson explained. She could see a bit of fogginess around the circle of the end of the scope, but it was fairly warm, it made sense.

" Now, try lining up one of them targets down there." he said pointing out towards the middle target.

" Just pull the trigger when you feel ready, and remember the recoil effect." he said and she nodded. She got situated with the scope and the rifle, and slowly drew her hand close to the trigger. She squinted her left eye a bit, to get a clearer ounce of vision through the scope and when she was satisfied, she pulled the trigger. Wilson was right, she wasn't ready for the recoil, that shot her and her shoulder back a bit.

And she'd missed the target.

It was obvious as the shot went echoing off into the trees somewhere. She slowly lowered the weapon, grimacing at what she'd done and glanced at Wilson, who raised a brow looking out.

" Well, that sure is a start, Corporal." he told her, and she offered a small, shaky smile his way. She was going to need a lot of practice. She tried a few more times, finally hitting the edge of the target with her last few shots of the round she'd been provided.

" It's going to take a bit to adjust, we had you with that M-1 for a bit, and that's just shot after shot, accuracy, with this, it's all about distance, perception, how far you gotta shoot, way the winds blowing. Bunch of things to take into account and it's a little annoying. But the weapon's so new to the class and in its first few stages, that I won't be surprised that you'll go through a few before you see some action." he told her. She wouldn't be surprised either with a weapon like this. Wilson went through being crouched shooting, as well as being on a sort of wooden stand shooting, having a bipod for support per say. Then he moved to ground tactics.

" Now the ground, will most likely be where you'll spend your time as a sniper, covered in things to hide you all that fun stuff. And it's where you have to remain most accurate." he told her and she nodded warily.

" Now move to your chest," she moved to her chest, as positioned her right leg bent a bit, to hold her steady. Wilson kneeled next to her as she moved her weapon into position and even messed with the scopes a bit.

" See you're learning already, Corporal." he said with a smile.

" Yes, sir, I am, sir." she said, as she drew her hand back into a comfortable position.

" Now, let me just tell you, out in war, you won't be able to think through these basics steps, which position you find more comfortable, things like that. You'll slam onto your stomach, aim and fire, in 2 seconds, done. Through training, you'll be working separately on things like that to keep your speed up." he told her, and she looked up at him with a nod, " People may think a sharpshooter or a sniper, lie in wait for hours, but your quick, you're trained with your speed, all things a sniper should be akin to, and that's what you'll be taught." She nodded.

" Try again here, for that same tiger, it'll be lower here, or seem like it because of your perception. You'll have to do this on the fly in combat, but practice here now to see how the adjustments will be." he told her and she nodded. She took a few rounds off, only hitting the outside rim of the target once or twice, but it felt nice to finally be with the gun she'd be using during combat.

" How do you know so much about the weapon, sir?" she asked him, as she sat back from the scope, sweating.

" My dad builds weapon, it's what his father did and now he does. I went past that and joined up for the war effort, he always talked about crafting the M1903, and how it then got variations and this one was similar. So when it came in on a shipment, I made sure I understood the ins and outs of it before giving it to someone else. I knew that if I understood the basics, it'd be easier for you." he told her.

" Thank you, sir." she said, and he nodded with a smile towards her.

" I want to try and stance with you, from just the regular ones, if you find yourself pushed up against a wall or corner and have to find a way out." he told her and she nodded.

" So, sit up, and pull on knee to your chest and the other, bent like your sit in a criss-cross position." he told her. Hazel did that, as Wilson positioned her shoulders perpendicular to the course, facing 90 degrees the opposite direction from the target.

" Now, bring your arms up, and cross them over your chest. This might be trickier to get down, but it is an easy way of shooting your weapon if you have to sit back." he told her. She brought her arms up over her chest, and Wilson slowly put the weapon in her arms. The barrel of the gun sat on the forearm of her left arm, as her right hand stayed where it was near the trigger and bolt handle.

" It's basically like your own personal bipod if one isn't available." he told her and she nodded. It was an interesting position, but she like the fact, that she could use it if she didn't have a bipod. It was pretty easy, especially for her tiny body, it helped with holding the weapon up.

" It's easy to hold up the weapon that way," she told him and he nodded.

" That's the intended purpose and especially with someone as tiny as you." he told her as she nodded.

" How about you take a few more practice shots, at least trying in this position." he told her. Hazel, slowly adjusted the weapon, and did her best with holding up the rifle straight, but she knew that would take some time to do. Hazel leaned her head against the pad and squinted her eye a bit, to get a good view on the target. She took a few shots and they went completely wonky, which she had expected, but by the end she had gotten a few shots closer to the target than at the beginning.



By that time, a few hours had passed when all was said and done and Hazel had put the safety on the weapon and made sure the scope was clicked into place. Wilson slowly crouched by her side as she adjusted the weapon and pointed to the underside of the weapon.

" Take a look at the brand." he told her. She looked up at him confused but he nodded.

" R?" she asked him.

" It's a Remington model; they are thinking that by early 1943, you'll be able to be provided with a more upgraded version of the weapon made by Remington." he told her. She nodded and looked at the R carved into her model.

" You won't be having a spotter like a traditional sniper team because you're not a traditional sniper, Thermes wanted me to remind you and tell you that." he told her. She nodded.

" He must trust me enough for that." she said quietly. Wilson smiled.

" He does." Moore said with a smile.

" Thank you, sir, for all your help with this." she said, looking at the rifle again and its brown finish.

" 'Course, Corporal." he told her and gently patted your shoulder, " Head back down to camp."

" Thank you, sir." she said and then turned and walked away, looking at the rifle now with more admiration. Hazel looked at the weapon with wide eyes, this was the weapon. The one she would be shooting in war, or at least a new variant as Wilson promised.

The Springfield rifle.

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hey again! i'm trying to get a few chapters out today because they are most just big masses of informative training, so i feel they are better to read all in one setting :)

expect a few more today as well, these chapters are all official as of now, and are the way i hoped they would be!

thank you for the reads, comments and votes, it always means so much! :)