This video shows how dangerous and sudden a misfire can be. Does your unit take “misfire procedures” training seriously enough?

2015-02-28T08:37:23-05:00

** Question for RP members: Misfires rarely happen, but when they do they can turn fatal quickly. How seriously does your unit take training on misfires? What is your first reaction to this misfire video?

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQWyzk-N6ro

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Across the DoD, misfires can occur with nearly every weapon system…from personal weapon to attack aviation weapons systems, and everything in between. Looking back at my time in the Army, I can say that I think some of my units DID NOT take misfire training seriously enough. We would go through it to check the box, but as I look back now, there were times when I was NOT 100% sure that every Soldier could back brief me or the Senior NCOs on how we handled misfires.

I am raising this important issue with everyone on RP because no matter what DoD branch we are in, misfires can happen to all of us. Please take a minute to read the questions above and share your experiences with misfires and misfire training.

120mm White Phosphorus Mortar

The round put in at :20 misfires. No injuries. http://www.reddit.com/r/Military/comments/1sidhm/this_happened_on_our_last_live_fire_120mm_white/

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Feb 28 at 2015 8:39 AM

2015-02-28T08:39:05-05:00

Note for everyone: If you are Retired or a Veteran, please feel free to answer the survey question with regard to units you used to be in. This thread is for all service members past and present. Thanks!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2015 8:46 AM

2015-02-28T08:46:46-05:00

My battalion, the Fort Jackson Special Troops Battalion (formerly, 4-10 IN BN), in partnership with the unit Drill Sergeants and Cadre, provides training to every Basic Trainee on Fort Jackson on rifle marksmanship, machine guns, hand grenades, AT-4, M203, and other non-weapon skills, ranges and training sites.
We take this extremely seriously! With Infantrymen, with many years of using these weapons systems as the Subject Matter Experts, and the DS and Cadre also trained, we make sure that the trainees understand what is going on and we watch carefully to prevent incidents.
Of course, things still happen, but we mitigate the risk as much as possible.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 28 at 2015 12:01 PM

2015-02-28T12:01:36-05:00

Most of the time I was in combat support or combat service support units and very rarely conducted misfire procedures other than on our M16A2 rifles and even that was sketchy.

I can say from living in and around Fort Bragg misfires occur at least once a year and usually result in injuries and sometimes death. I believe that this type of training though may seem routine and boring is indeed important and may save your life one day and should not be taken lightly.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 28 at 2015 2:29 PM

2015-02-28T14:29:51-05:00

This of course being ancient history, but back in 1994, I had a buddy who was behind an Mk 19 when it blew. He was in MCT, one of the grenades "short fired" and got stuck in the barrel. It hadn't armed, however that didn't matter when the second round impacted a second later.

Luckily his kevlar took "most" of the impact, and he happened to be wearing a pair of ballistic glasses at the time. His A-Gunner took a bit of shrapnel in his arm, and he had some nice scars across his face.

Now, there wasn't much he could have done about that, but proper safety saved both of them.

We do a lot of really cool, and really fun things. But a lot of these things also involve explosives. Hell yes, we took anything that could get us killed very seriously. Every commander I've ever had has said "I'm not going to lose a Marine in training."

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Mar 6 at 2015 6:03 AM

2015-03-06T06:03:15-05:00

Here is a feel good story about a Soldier who was severely injured but survived a misfire. One other was injured and one paid the ultimate sacrifice.

http://www.fayobserver.com/military/soldier-injured-in-artillery-accident-awaits-his-moment-of-mobility/article_8a363cc4-1c64-58b5-af4e-5035bda62c22.html

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Mar 6 at 2015 9:52 AM

2015-03-06T09:52:55-05:00

That is the equivalent of 15 pots of coffee! Or as a comedian once said about extremely stressful events "First you say it.......then you do it!"

Response by SPC David Shaffer made Mar 6 at 2015 11:20 AM

2015-03-06T11:20:22-05:00

I am now retired but when I was still serving, a misfire has always been very serious. Every unit I have ever know of takes misfire training very seriously. The training saves lives.