As I said, I understand why they do it. But I do not believe it is worth the cost. What lesson is going to be learned by using live ammo? Anyone with any sense knows that in war the bad guys are shooting you and that you had better keep your head down.
Maybe the beloved rooky sailor Yogi Berra didn't know that ..... ;)
When the D-Day invasion started, Berra could barely see the sky because there were so many planes, flares and explosions. There was one moment when all the fire and flame of the invasion got to him and he poked his head up over the side of the LCSS. "Get your head down" yelled his commander, "if you want to keep it on."
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