Rubber duck (military)

[1] Trainees are issued rubber ducks to add realism to training without the dangers and maintenance inherent to real firearms.

For example, rubber ducks are sometimes issued to troops before they have been properly trained to use actual rifles to become familiar with basic care, and responsible handling.

Other times rubber ducks are issued as a time saver, where proper long-term care of a real firearm would distract from the main training focus, such as tactical combat casualty care training, or land navigation.

Still others are made entirely of rubber or plastic that has been molded to resemble both the exact shape and weight of a rifle.

The replicas allow soldiers to learn disassembly and reassembly of their rifles much earlier in their training.