Mr. Thornley. Well, in the Marine Corps you are required once a year to go to the rifle range and qualify. I was not there an entire year. Point No. 2, this was the Marine air wing which has much less of an emphasis on, in general, on rifle practice because it is not going to be utilized in battle, and a much stronger emphasis, in the case of the outfit we were in, on our particular military occupational specialty.
Mr. Jenner. Which was?
Mr. Thornley. 6749 Aviation Electronic Operator.
Mr. Jenner. Was this true when you reached Japan?
Mr. Thornley. More so. When I reached Japan, however, we did go to the rifle range one time shortly after I got there, and qualify. I recall at that time that in Japan we weren't even having rifle inspections. There you could put your rifle away in your locker and forget about it, and take it out every couple of months and make sure it hadn't corroded away, and put it back again.
Mr. Jenner. But you didn't even have rifle inspection?
Mr. Thornley. Once in a while we would have one, but not with any frequency whatsoever.
Mr. Jenner. Were you forewarned so that you could clean your rifle?
Mr. Thornley. No; usually you were caught unawares, which was why you kept it clean in the locker.
Mr. Jenner. I see. What are the grades of marksmanship?