[R. Scott]

Infantry soldiers are given the time to properly maintain their weapons. They are given ammunition for practice firing. The M-16 is their number one piece of equipment and they are not only allowed but encouraged to maintain it.
Support units are a different story. Jessica’s unit had as their number one piece of equipment a contact truck. The M-16 was just something they had to drag along.
In the support units I was in our M-16s were locked up in an arms room for a year at a time.
Once a year we drew our weapon for qualification at the range. Our “training ammo” consisted of nine rounds – to zero the sights. We did have a full time armorer charged with maintenance, but the individual soldier was not allowed access.
The only other time we had access was for field training exercises. We were issued the weapon, played in the woods and returned them to the arms room.
In this case I see the soldiers carrying their weapon into the desert. Sandstorms were prevalent at the time and undoubtedly fouled many of the weapons. Weapons maintenance was not the priority – vehicle maintenance was. Support Company Commanders in general put all resources into their primary job – supporting the combat troops. Self defense is way down the list of priorities and support troops pay when under fire.

[Chief_Joe]

Support units are a different story. Jessica’s unit had as their number one piece of equipment a contact truck. ...Weapons maintenance was not the priority – vehicle maintenance was. Support Company Commanders in general put all resources into their primary job – supporting the combat troops.

This is another part of this story that's bothered me because it again illustrates why she shouldn't have been there in the first place. Many people think women can be placed in these positions in the military because anybody can drive a truck, right? But these support troops are not just driving trucks: they're supporting units. It take tremendous amount of physical strength and stamina to replenish and supply these units while still maintaining your vehicles. Jessie failed to take care of her vehicle during this mission.

[#3Fan]

Good point. I was wondering about that. I was wondering how much time they had being that they had a job to do.

[BBell]

After active duty I did a breif stint in the Marine reserves. I guess I do recall some of the Marines not remembering how to dismantle their weapons. This was a Head quarters unit though.