Rifle Fires. Rifle Stops.

Rifle fires. Rifle stops.

Cock, lock, look.

Rounds in the magazine. No rounds in the chamber.

Release the action and continue firing.

This drill was known to the soldier as ‘Immediate Actions’ or IA. It was designed to teach how to instinctively identify and remedy a weapon stoppage.

Habits, routines, customs and rituals are springboards for creativity, innovation, and improvement.

They are the beginnings - not the ends.

They need practice and maintenance as much as a soldier needs to rehearse IAs.

But a soldier’s job is not to execute drills. A soldier’s job is to engage with the enemy.

Beware the ritual keepers who are put in charge.

They will fiercely resist progress and those who seek it as enemies of tradition and thus threats to their power and ego.