Qusay's first confident shot missed the target, no wonder the people around him had such strange expressions. Even Izzat looked at him with a smile, as if saying, 'See? Can't do it? Go back and practice first!'
Could Qusay's small physique be holding him back? Qusay thought, 'Impossible!' At the anti-aircraft artillery position, he could even carry shoulder-fired missiles, let alone this small arms shooting.
There must be a problem here. Qusay looked at the rifle in his hand. Could it be that this Iraq-produced rifle had an issue?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Qusay's mind. In a flash of lightning, he understood the problem.
This gun was not calibrated!
A gun doesn't necessarily hit where it's aimed; the aiming point and the actual point of impact must coincide. Generally, new guns are laser-calibrated at the factory, hitting exactly where aimed. However, it's unknown whether these Iraq-produced rifles were calibrated before leaving the factory.
And did his uncle, Military Region Commander Izzat, know that this gun was inaccurate? Looking at his expression, it didn't seem like he was playing a trick on him.
How can a gun hit accurately if it's not calibrated? Izzat looked at Qusay's shooting posture and knew he had mastered the shooting essentials. Good thing he found these newly delivered guns; otherwise, Qusay might have actually passed the test.
If it were an ordinary soldier shooting with an uncalibrated gun, it would be absolutely impossible to hit the target. But for special forces, it's different.
Ordinary soldiers rarely get to practice shooting, and they always use carefully selected guns. Special forces, however, even use live ammunition in drills, so their skill level is naturally different. And those mean instructors sometimes really do give them uncalibrated guns to shoot with.
Lack of calibration isn't a big problem. The key is to know how much error the gun has and adjust the aiming direction accordingly.
Qusay stared intently at the target and fired the second shot.
It still missed the target, but Qusay had clearly seen that the bullet was about ten centimeters to the left of the target.
Alright, that's enough. Qusay shifted his aiming point ten centimeters to the right of the target. Although he was aiming outside the target, a lucky shot would accurately hit the mark.
Izzat continued to watch Qusay aim, certain he would still miss.
Indeed, the second shot still missed the target.
Izzat narrowed his eyes, the sunlight a bit dazzling. He listened to the rifle shots and thought, 'My nephew has really embarrassed himself this time. Now, he should honestly report to the logistics department, right?' That's not a bad place; countless people rack their brains trying to get in there.
"Excellent, truly impressive."
"He's practically a marksman!"
Listening to the voices of the other officers, Izzat picked up the binoculars nearby.
With one look, he gasped. 'Impossible, how is this possible?'
Except for one bullet that hit the five-ring, almost all the others were ten-rings! The large hole in the center had been completely torn apart.
Izzat could hit the ten-ring at two hundred meters, but if he used this uncalibrated gun, Izzat's result would also be every shot missing the target.
How did he do it?
Izzat didn't know what to say. This time, he had been outdone. He hadn't expected Qusay to be so skilled and unassuming. This level of skill, even among the troops, would be considered top-tier.
What to do? Does he really have to transfer him into the army?
For the last five bullets, Qusay switched to full-auto mode. Generally, automatic rifles can choose single-shot, three-round burst, or full-auto modes. Single-shot is the easiest to aim. In full-auto, subsequent shots are affected by previous ones, causing the barrel to jump up and affecting accuracy.
The last five shots tore the target to shreds.
Qusay fired all the bullets in the magazine in one breath and let out a long sigh. He felt that he was born a warrior; as long as he held a gun and fired bullets, all his frustrations seemed to vanish.
"Commander, how's my marksmanship?" Qusay turned his head and asked Izzat.
"Well..." Izzat said, "Your marksmanship is indeed excellent. I didn't expect our Qusay to have grown up so much."
"Then do I still need to report to the logistics department?"
"This..." Izzat's mind raced, unable to think of a suitable place to assign him.
"How about he serves as a combat staff officer in our Military Region Command? We are short of a few combat staff officers here," Chief of Staff Fat Halad said.
If he couldn't be assigned to the logistics department, then he could only be assigned within the Command. Although there was a risk of him meddling, it was better than sending him to the front lines, right?
The faces of the Command staff turned grim. No one wanted a prince working in their department, but there was nothing they could do.
"Welcome, His Excellency Qusay, to participate in our combat command," they all said with forced smiles.
"No, no," Qusay looked at the Chief of Staff who was trying to mediate, then at Izzat, and said, "I want to go to the army. I want to personally eliminate those hateful Persians."
Qusay looked at the troubled Izzat. He knew that Izzat's reluctance was entirely for his safety. His well-being would likely affect the futures of all of them. He chose to come to the Southern Military Region, and these people must have felt incredibly unlucky.
However, if he had to choose again, he still wouldn't want to enjoy the leisurely life of a second prince in Baghdad. Because the suffering of the Iraqi people in later generations made Qusay feel the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. He was duty-bound to change the fate of the people living in the Middle East.
The key to Iraq's revitalization lay in the Southern Military Region. Resisting the Iranians, Iraq's revival was within reach.
Qusay knew he had given them a huge problem. If he were assigned to the front lines and something happened to him, none of them would escape responsibility.
Qusay's gaze swept over everyone and saw an armored vehicle parked next to the firing range. It was a Chinese Type 63 Armored Personnel Carrier. Qusay was quite familiar with this type of armored vehicle; he was in a mechanized infantry company when he was in the field army, and they used this type of armored vehicle.
This armored vehicle is a light armored vehicle with amphibious capabilities. Its combat weight is 12.6 tons, and its hull is welded from high-strength armor steel plates. The power transmission system is located at the front right, using an inline 6-cylinder diesel engine with a maximum power of 260 horsepower. The driver is located at the front left, the rear of the vehicle is the troop compartment with a rear door for entry and exit, and the top has various roof hatches. The weapon system consists of one 12.7mm machine gun. It is the main equipment for infantry accompanying armored regiments.
It seems he still needs to show them a trick or two to let them know his military quality is excellent.
Qusay strode towards the armored vehicle.
Izzat and the others watched His Excellency Qusay walk towards the armored vehicle, at a loss. Did he want to drive an armored vehicle?
Indeed, Qusay wanted to experience driving an armored vehicle. He wanted to tell these people who were worried about him that he was not a weakling needing protection on the battlefield; he was a strong warrior on the battlefield!
He opened the driver's hatch and jumped into the cockpit.
This armored vehicle is similar to a car; the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals are the same, and the gearbox is a five-speed transmission. However, there is no steering wheel; all tracked vehicles use control levers. (Later tanks have already adopted new hydraulic controls with steering wheels, which are very effortless.)
Qusay adjusted the seat higher so he could stick his head out. Driving this way, although like driving a convertible, offered a wide field of vision. He hadn't driven this type of armored vehicle in a long time. If he closed the driver's hatch and drove through the observation window, his vision would be narrow, and improper directional control could easily run over the high-ranking officials around him. In that case, he would probably have to immediately run back to Baghdad and leave the aftermath to others.
Qusay put on his helmet and pressed the start button.
The moment he pressed it, Qusay stomped on the accelerator. This was also the way to start this type of engine; otherwise, it would be embarrassing if it didn't start for a long time.
"Boom, boom boom." The engine started smoothly, and the huge roar of the engine came. Without a helmet, the roar would cause significant hearing damage.
Qusay pulled the hand throttle lever on the right side of the seat back a little to prevent the engine from stalling due to excessively low idle speed.
Depressing the clutch, Qusay shifted into 2nd gear, slowly released the clutch with his left foot, and stomped on the accelerator with his right foot. The armored vehicle rumbled forward.
Due to the confined space, Qusay only picked up speed, then sharply pulled the control lever with his left hand. The armored vehicle swiftly turned left and stopped in front of the generals. Qusay disengaged the gear, pulled the handbrake, and climbed from the seat to the back, onto the turret.
Unlocking the 12.7mm machine gun on the turret, Qusay once again aimed at the target two hundred meters away. A few shots tore the target to pieces.
Then, Qusay mischievously turned 180 degrees and aimed the machine gun at the high-ranking officials in front of him.
Immediately, their faces changed drastically. If Qusay just pulled the trigger, they would probably all meet Allah.
Izzat was the first to react, "Allah be praised, granting us such a brave and great warrior! The wicked Persians will surely cower at the feet of the valiant His Excellency Qusay."
Qusay jumped off the armored vehicle and gave Izzat a standard military salute: "Reporting, Commander! Private Qusay requests to go to the front line to fight the Persians! Long live Great Iraq!"
"Good. His Excellency Qusay, please go to the 35th Armored Brigade of the 13th Armored Division to assist our army in guarding the Susangerd (also known as Susangird, different transliterations) region," Izzat said.
"Yes! I will report immediately." Qusay was overjoyed.
Susangerd, Qusay was familiar with it. The largest tank battle in the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War would break out here. He was going there, to an armored brigade no less. This time, there would be a fight.
As the saying goes, amateurs watch the show, experts watch the technique. Izzat knew that His Excellency Qusay's two displays proved he was a rigorously trained soldier. Although he had no prior military service, he was already capable of becoming a veteran on the battlefield.
Even so, Zayit didn't dare to put him on the very front line. The Susangird region had been quiet for a long time; it was a large swamp area, not conducive to tank maneuvering at all. The 35th Armored Brigade was ordered to rest there and certainly wouldn't encounter any enemies.
Wasn't he insistent on joining the troops? Then let him go to the 35th Armored Brigade and rest with the unit.