When there is any article about military life not rife with inaccuracies, I tend to cite it.

This one is pretty good.

The only major item the journalists got wrong is that the trainees are not using Vietnam-era M-16s. The rifles pictured are M-16A2s, which were not used in Vietnam.

The model used in Vietnam had a smooth stock; the A2 has a ridged stock for better grip. Fired one of those myself plenty of times.

The regular Army did not adopt the M-16A2 until the late 1980s, and almost all of them have now been phased out in favor of the M-4 for regular-duty troops.

The red device on the end is an adapter so it can fire blanks properly. It’s called a blank firing adapter and allows the rifle to cycle correctly, prevents debris that even blanks throw out from hitting anyone and signals that the rifle in fact contains blanks.