Before going overseas World War I soldiers trained to fight, although some men volunteered for the Allies before the United States entered the war. One volunteer, Kiffin Rockwell of Asheville helped form the Lafayette Escadrille, a unit of American flyers for the French Air Force in 1916, without knowing how to fly! Back home, soldiers at camp knew that qualifying as a marksman was difficult, especially when trying to hit a target without a rifle. Soldiers also trained to protect themselves from poison gas, a weapon used for the first time during World War I.