Posted on Jan 28, 2016
The Tragic Truth Of Accidental Deaths In Combat Zones
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There have been efforts to reduce non-hostile deaths in the U.S. military, but have those efforts really paid off?
The only person who died during my deployment to Iraq in 2003 to 2004 was U.S. Army Sgt. Landis Garrison. Other people, such as Brandon Ramsey of the 933rd Military Police Company, died, but they were not from my unit, the 333rd. Still, the manner in which both Ramsey and Garrison died is similar. They were not shot by insurgents. They were not blown to bits by mortars or improvised explosive devices. No, none of that. They died from preventable causes. They died from accidents.
The only person who died during my deployment to Iraq in 2003 to 2004 was U.S. Army Sgt. Landis Garrison. Other people, such as Brandon Ramsey of the 933rd Military Police Company, died, but they were not from my unit, the 333rd. Still, the manner in which both Ramsey and Garrison died is similar. They were not shot by insurgents. They were not blown to bits by mortars or improvised explosive devices. No, none of that. They died from preventable causes. They died from accidents.
The Tragic Truth Of Accidental Deaths In Combat Zones
Posted from taskandpurpose.comPosted in these groups: 
Combat
Combat
Posted 9 y ago
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We know accidents happen and that is why we have convoy briefs, TI inspections and the like. There is also the responsibility of the leaders, in fact anyone, to conduct risk assessments and rehearsals.
In the case of the troop that accidentally shot himself, we all receive firearm safety instruction.
Some can be considered avoidable and some really were true accidents. If the troop had received rollover training in a simulator, would he had survived? We don't really know but rollover simulators exist today as a result of that and similar situations.
I knew of a Soldier killed in Kuwait prepping to go back home after a year in Iraq that was crushed in a motor pool by a Hemitt. Soon after we were all wearing reflective belts in theater and ground guards became mandatory even for HMMWVs. (correlation? maybe.)
We try to avoid accidents but they do happen. We are human.
In the case of the troop that accidentally shot himself, we all receive firearm safety instruction.
Some can be considered avoidable and some really were true accidents. If the troop had received rollover training in a simulator, would he had survived? We don't really know but rollover simulators exist today as a result of that and similar situations.
I knew of a Soldier killed in Kuwait prepping to go back home after a year in Iraq that was crushed in a motor pool by a Hemitt. Soon after we were all wearing reflective belts in theater and ground guards became mandatory even for HMMWVs. (correlation? maybe.)
We try to avoid accidents but they do happen. We are human.
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There's a ton of safety programs out there now to make sure accidental deaths don't happen. These are the ones that soldiers complain about and think are stupid. There's always a method behind the madness. I keep on my guys so that they don't die in an accident. I try. Accidents do happen though.
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The accidental ones are always the hardest to deal with. Historically more Soldiers have died from preventable causes then actual combat, we have come a long way, but this will always be a problem, The last DVD on the Band of Brother's set deals with this quite a bit.
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