Confidence in your equipment

Confindence is a very important element in life. It is almost an emotion and it runs very close to arogance and stupiditiy. Confindence is created by humans and can easlily destroy a situation.

The U.S. Army trains Soldiers to have confidence in their equipment. Especially at the Airborne school! This is tough because their is no tougher critic; the score in the game is determined in human lives. Soldiers called the "Jeep" a jeep because at the time, "Jeep" was the word used for unproven gear. Obviously it became proven but the name stuck. Due to a lack of stopping power the Soldiers in the Pacific during WWII traded their unproven small caliber sidearms for the classic 1911.

In the armed forces and law enforcement (LAPD SWAT) the 1911 style pistol has gained a cult-like following. Confidence in the large, slow, man-stopping 45 ACP has kept the 1911 still in service today despite the plastic pistols. Plastic pistols are tough, easy to maintain, and easier to shoot well. Accuracy with either depends on the shooter's ability and confidence. I feel ability and confidence cannot be mutually exclusive. The mastery of one however, will lead to the mastery of the other if both are addressed.