Posted on Oct 9, 2014
Does the Camp Lejeune death show we need to crack down on firearm safety?
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Yesterday, Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon Little was sentenced to two years behind bars for inadvertently shooting and killing a fellow Marine outside the Camp Lejeune main gate back in April. Little’s rank and pay were also reduced to E-1, and he will receive a dishonorable discharge.
Little said he had been absent-mindedly flicking the safety switch on his M4 service rifle from “safe” to “semi” while directing traffic at the end of a 12-hour shift. When he returned to the gate house he was about to unload his weapon, but didn’t check to make sure the safety was on. He pulled back the charging handle and accidentally chambered a round. When that happened, he stood up to try to correct it, but pulled the trigger in the process, shooting Lance Cpl. Mark Boterf who was in front of him.
The lead attorney for the government argued Little should get a five-year sentence with forfeiture of all pay and rank and a dishonorable discharge for violating all four of the Marines’ cardinal firearms safety rules. Would a tougher sentence have sent a more powerful message for all Marines and service members?
On the other hand, Little’s defense pointed out he had taken full responsibility for his actions and stressed he will endure a lifetime of guilt and torment for what happened. Since this is an isolated incident, should Little’s punishment be left at that?
This tragic case certainly brings attention to the importance of weapon safety and proper procedures. The Marine’s death was an accident, but it could have easily been prevented had Little not been messing around with his gun. Are some service members becoming too comfortable with carrying such powerful weapons that they forget safety measures?
What can be done to prevent these tragedies from happening? What are some mistakes you’ve seen fellow service members make with their firearms that go against proper safety measures?
Little said he had been absent-mindedly flicking the safety switch on his M4 service rifle from “safe” to “semi” while directing traffic at the end of a 12-hour shift. When he returned to the gate house he was about to unload his weapon, but didn’t check to make sure the safety was on. He pulled back the charging handle and accidentally chambered a round. When that happened, he stood up to try to correct it, but pulled the trigger in the process, shooting Lance Cpl. Mark Boterf who was in front of him.
The lead attorney for the government argued Little should get a five-year sentence with forfeiture of all pay and rank and a dishonorable discharge for violating all four of the Marines’ cardinal firearms safety rules. Would a tougher sentence have sent a more powerful message for all Marines and service members?
On the other hand, Little’s defense pointed out he had taken full responsibility for his actions and stressed he will endure a lifetime of guilt and torment for what happened. Since this is an isolated incident, should Little’s punishment be left at that?
This tragic case certainly brings attention to the importance of weapon safety and proper procedures. The Marine’s death was an accident, but it could have easily been prevented had Little not been messing around with his gun. Are some service members becoming too comfortable with carrying such powerful weapons that they forget safety measures?
What can be done to prevent these tragedies from happening? What are some mistakes you’ve seen fellow service members make with their firearms that go against proper safety measures?
Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps
Safety
Firearms and Guns
Command Post
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 76
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I would say better training. When I was a Firefighter/EMT before joining the military I had some tools at my disposal that were very useful if used correctly and deadly if used incorrectly. If I were to make a mistake that resulted in death, I could potentially get called to court to answer for my actions. Also called to court would be my company officer, my EMT instructor, the EMS coordinator, and the Fire Chief. Everyone has to show that they did enough to ensure I didn't make mistakes like giving people 10 times the proper dose of morphine or giving making someones heart explode by giving them too much of a med that has a side effect of increased heart rate.
Maybe his immediate supervisor, his commander, and his arms instructor should have been called up to testify and to answer for why something like this was possible. This probably wasn't the first time he played with the safety, this probably wasn't the first time he cleared his weapon while sitting down. This makes me wonder how many times he's followed these improper procedures without shooting someone, and I refuse to use the word accident. An accident is when everyone involved does everything within their power to prevent something and it happens anyway.
Maybe his immediate supervisor, his commander, and his arms instructor should have been called up to testify and to answer for why something like this was possible. This probably wasn't the first time he played with the safety, this probably wasn't the first time he cleared his weapon while sitting down. This makes me wonder how many times he's followed these improper procedures without shooting someone, and I refuse to use the word accident. An accident is when everyone involved does everything within their power to prevent something and it happens anyway.
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The Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center has a plethora of incidents involving firearms and negligence. It's astounding how many times complacency puts soldiers at risk. I read about an incident where two officers were playing "laser tag" with the laser pointers on the pistol grips of their issued M9's. As is usually the case, someone's pistol had a round chambered and the other officer was shot.
I wonder where the NCO was in this scenario. I don't mean to sound like I'm passing the buck here. The LCpl messed up bad. What about the other members of the detail? Did someone notice him messing with the selector lever? Did anyone tell him to quit messing around? I know this is starting to sound like a 15-6 investigation, but more details surrounding the incident would be enlightening.
The punishment seems fitting. On top of all this, he will still have to live with his actions. His one moment of inattention may end up defining his time in service. It reminds me of a saying I heard with some adult language:
"You can build a thousand bridges and be known as a bridge builder, but you suck just one dick, and you're a cocksucker for life"
I would say this incident doesn't call for any "CRACK DOWN" on policy or procedures. Perhaps a review of clearing procedures. The bigger lesson would be to ensue all members of the shift/team are checking up on each other. Fatigue and complacency can kill just as effectively as any enemy.
I wonder where the NCO was in this scenario. I don't mean to sound like I'm passing the buck here. The LCpl messed up bad. What about the other members of the detail? Did someone notice him messing with the selector lever? Did anyone tell him to quit messing around? I know this is starting to sound like a 15-6 investigation, but more details surrounding the incident would be enlightening.
The punishment seems fitting. On top of all this, he will still have to live with his actions. His one moment of inattention may end up defining his time in service. It reminds me of a saying I heard with some adult language:
"You can build a thousand bridges and be known as a bridge builder, but you suck just one dick, and you're a cocksucker for life"
I would say this incident doesn't call for any "CRACK DOWN" on policy or procedures. Perhaps a review of clearing procedures. The bigger lesson would be to ensue all members of the shift/team are checking up on each other. Fatigue and complacency can kill just as effectively as any enemy.
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I do not think we need to beat a dead horse any longer, it should not be called firearm safety it should be called people safety as its not the firearm thats making mistakes or killing people, its people making mistakes and killing people, I do believe we loose more lives in the US by transportation accidents and yet we dont seem to want to have to burden ourselves with tougher driving orientation programs and I have never seen where anyone has to go through any type of training to board a civilian flight or a train or a boat.
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SGT Amb Alvin Johnson
Makes much sense to me, SGT Glenn. Words and cliches for the reason of just sounding good shows there was not much thought initiated before they were created. Is this an indication not much thought is taken seriously regarding prevention?
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SGT Steve Oakes
It is an inflammatory issue that politicians love to get on the stump about. Just like "Gun Violence". When somebody kills with a knife it is not called "Knife Violence". No one ever says getting run over on purpose is "Vehicular Violence".It is just that the politicians and therefore the media have decided that it is an issue we all need to argue about.
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I wasn't there, and don't want to play devils advocate or take a side one way or the other...I also know that we are all different in our thought processes....but this seems like too convenient or strange of a series of events to have just been accidental. Not that I am advocating that it wasn't.
I STILL shoot in practical matches and on the range by myself and I am STILL overly conscious and very vigilant regarding where my finger is, the position of my safety, and what condition my weapon(s) are/is in. If there are 5 things (realistically there are many more than 5) that I will never EVER forget from my time in the Marine Corps, one of the top 5 is how to properly handle and/or use a weapon. It is almost a matter muscle memory and habit...like putting my seat belt on.
I STILL shoot in practical matches and on the range by myself and I am STILL overly conscious and very vigilant regarding where my finger is, the position of my safety, and what condition my weapon(s) are/is in. If there are 5 things (realistically there are many more than 5) that I will never EVER forget from my time in the Marine Corps, one of the top 5 is how to properly handle and/or use a weapon. It is almost a matter muscle memory and habit...like putting my seat belt on.
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Unfortunately, firearm accidents have occurred throughout the history of the military, but considering that many carry hot weapons, the accidents are miniscule. The military pounds firearm safety into all recruits in basic and reinforces that principle in all training. Still, accidents to happen. I do not know what else the military could do to have zero incidents.
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Yes; combine this with statistics on other negligent discharges and we (all military leaders) should be stressing firearms safety and familiarity every chance we get.
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In a word, NO. This Marine has handled weapons before, safely and effectively. Enough for him to become COMFORTABLE WITH IT. And after 12 hours under arms, became careless with it. This incident does not reflect on the training, simply put, there can be no excuse for having a man under arms for 12 hours continuously outside a hostile fire zone. That duration alone can reduce the ability to remain focused to dangerously low levels. Especially in a comparatively innocuous area. As for corrective measures, this Marine needs evaluation for PTS, and a medical discharge, since it's highly unlikely he'll ever be able to handle any weapon again. We need to face the fact that with the sheer number of people handling weapons, THERE WILL BE ACCIDENTS. It's an occupational hazard.
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SGT Leigh Barton
I'd also recommend revising the "forfeiture of pay and allowances" to "reassignment of pay and allowances to the decedents survivors", especially if kids are among the survivors.
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The last couple of shootings I have seen involving service members have been from negligence plain and simple. You can train someone all you want, but in the end that service member needs to use common sense and some restraint especially when dealing with firearms. The worst punishment he will deal with is the fact that for the rest of his life he will have to know that he killed a fellow soldier because of a mistake he made.
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SGT (Join to see)
The lower ranks are always going to take most of the blame, that is just how it is going to work.
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RallyPoint Team , I worked in military units where we carried firearms fully loaded with rounds chambered. We had no accidents during my tenure. Safety was stressed, stressed, trained, stressed again, and then trained again. As a civilian law enforcement officer I was fond of the term negligent discharge as opposed to accidental discharge as I am convinced a weapon system will not, typically, fire itself without a finger on the trigger and inside the trigger guard. This is negligent. A more harsh punishment should have been provided. This young Marine was careless and a shooting occured as a direct result. Cause: carelessness; Result: Death of another Marine; Punishment: Maximum.
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