The best of them inspire great confidence.
But even the least of them show that what they lack in skill they make up for it with determination to do better.
Meet Iraq's would-be special forces snipers.
In many ways these young recruits being trained by Australian forces symbolise the future of their country.
They are motivated by their love of their country and, more parochially, a desire to kick Islamic State extremists out of their home towns.
Many have horrific stories to tell of family members and friends being killed or brutalised.
As Malcolm Turnbull said during his first visit to Baghdad on Saturday, it is not so much the US-led coalition that will lead to long-term stability in Iraq but the success of Iraq's own military as well as the political ability of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to bring the disparate groups within his nation together.
In some ways, the prime minister's first meet-the-troops trip was as much a matter of "basic training" for Turnbull as it was for the rookies at the Baghdad rifle range.
By the time he made the 16-hour round trip from Camp Baird to Taji he had gone from selfies over breakfast with ADF logistics personnel, to an insightful discussion about Iraq's state of play with Abadi, to intricately detailed briefings with some of the most attuned senior officers in the Middle East area of operations.
What follows, as Turnbull seeks to shore up confidence in an electorate wary of open-ended wars, will indicate whether he can be a crack shot as commander in chief.
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