LITS, I would would strongly disagree that training on basic proficiency with firearms at USMA over Beast is not necessary. We spent a good week or so during the second half of our summer becoming proficient with the M4 as well as gaining exposure to some other kinds of weaponary.
Where I could agree that maybe you would not necessarily need the training is when you teach a new cadet how to use a M240 but that's because the great majority will never fire it after that day.
The M4 though? West Point's summer training the first two summers is heavily grounded in infantry tactics considering that the infantry is the boots of our Army. How can you understand the "why" behind half of the things we're in the process of being taught, if you have no clue how to handle the basic primary weapon your soldiers will have? Setting up patrol bases and camping out pulling security would've been even more ridiculous if we had rubber duckies. If anything, I know that there are many people who are more interested in continued familiarization with the M4 during the actual school year so as to decrease drop off in forgetting things when handling it between summers. It would take more time away from CFT if you had to train yearlings how to handle their M4 from scratch when the point of CFT is to build on the knowledge from Beast and actually get into the tactics and procedures the Army uses, heavily biased towards infantry of course.
Besides, there is a certain expectation that you will be mature obviously in how you handle yourself with the weapon. If you don't the actual NCO's watching, as well as the cadet NCO's, will quickly correct you. Definitly seen that happen. The guy was scared to death by the reaction and he definitly learned not to do it again. It also teaches you responsibility and accountability. New cadets are only responsible for themselves and their rifles. If you manage to lose an inanimate object that's attached to you have the time, we have issues and that's unacceptable.