Your Jan. 10 Cameron Cardow editorial cartoon with neighbors having a tank or a helicopter invites the question: What about assault rifles?

My first exposure to assault rifles was during basic training at Fort Dix in June 1968. We learned to take apart our weapons, clean them, and put them back together. We learned to sight them and how to knock down half-silhouette targets up to 300 yards away. We returned our weapons to the company armory, where they were kept under lock and key. We never had ammunition for close-order drill or when on parade.

After training, during the only time I was issued a weapon with ammunition, we were in constant radio contact with an experienced NCO and under strict protocol not to release the safety or discharge the weapon without his direct order.

If the U.S. Army, in graver danger than the American public, can have this kind of gun control, how can we expect the general populace, with less training and less experienced supervision, to have access to assault rifles?

William White

Locust Grove