Another Marine Dies In Training Accident
Now, I don’t know any of the facts for this actual incident, but I can speak on how things were when I was on Active Duty in the ’80s-’90s.
***NOTE*** I’m not saying that any of this is how this young Marine died, just possible scenarios. Most training scenarios are controlled chaos.
We do know that this young Marine (Lance Cpl. Joseph D. Whaley) was killed during a nighttime live-fire exercise and I can tell you firsthand that when I was in the Corps, it wouldn’t be difficult for a young inexperienced Marine to get hurt or killed during one of these exercises.
Let’s first look at the rifle range, which has changed considerably from when I was in. Let’s say that this Marine was in the pits, pulling butts (targets). For those that are not in the know, the pits are the part of the rifle range, where the targets are located. In the pits, live rounds are flying overhead. This means that the copper projectile part of the bullet is hitting the paper target right above your head. Now, if you follow the rules, you are going to be safe, unless a bizarre accident occurs, such as the projectile hitting the metal frame and ricocheting into the pits. But if you are screwing around there are several ways you could get hurt. We had this recruit from a different platoon that wanted to pop his head up over the barrier to see down the range. This would have exposed his head to direct fire likely giving him a nice third eye.
Now let’s look at something bigger, where there are hundreds of Marines with live ammo and vehicles and mix in someone who isn’t paying attention and moving into someone’s field of fire, and well, bingo.
But maybe it was a malfunction of his weapon and it blew up when he was clearing it. We don’t know if this young Marine was firing an M4 or a .50 cal. We have no idea what he was doing because the story is very vague and will remain as such. Maybe something else exploded and he was caught up in it. He could have also been in the wrong spot at the wrong time and the air ordinance was dropped.
It doesn’t always mean that he was out fucking around (OFA), however, it is still very sad. Since he was in school at the time of his death, the more likely cause is an instructor who wasn’t doing his or her job and cost this young Marine his life.
When I was an instructor, I can say that the young Marines (PFC and LCpl) are not always the sharpest of tools in the shed, but then again, that is what we are supposed to be teaching them. I have a few cases of instructors neglecting their position.
It is sad that a Marine lost his life, period, but in training, it just makes it seem so much worse.
