Most of the guys I served with could not shoot. Not even a little bit. We did shoot guns, all manner of guns on at least an annual basis over in the combat zone. Not everyone shot more than either a 1911 or an M1. Few shot both and very few shot the other weapons we had available. I lead the damage assessment team if we had to go ashore to see what the 5 inch 54s accomplished and I had 4 other people with me plus a MWB coxwain. I chose them, their weapons and made sure they could shoot them. We had a few gunners mates, but they were not any of them small arms people. Most of them were mechanics to keep the mounts operating and the actual operation of the mounts when we were firing.
Basically everywhere I went in those years the guys I worked with were about like your average civilian. Officers and enlisted alike. I kept my personal weapons in a safe in the guard house on shore station and in the small arms locker on ship. I am all but certain I was the only person at any command where I was billeted who even had personal weapons of any kind. When I kept a car I could park it just outside the main gate and most of the time when I did so I left whatever weapon I had out in the car. If we had marines as part of the complement THEY could shoot at least respectably. For those years I really knew very few people who were competent with a weapon and at least 95% of the guys I served with wouldn't have known what ammo to put in which weapon, not even a clue. It would not have surprised me at all to see some people I worked with or officers I served under try to put 22 lr ammo into an M1.
