Negligent Discharge

Negligent discharge, a term to strike fear into the hearts of commanders. No, it is not the same as premajure ejaculation, but there are similarities.

The Army tries to be very careful about ensuring that soldiers are not carrying loaded weapons around the FOB. We are supposed to clear, i.e., remove the bullets from, our weapons after whatever event occurs that required the weapons to be loaded. If we are outside the wire, we stop on the way in and clear the weapons. We also have clearing barrels outside the PX, DFAC, and other public areas, and we are supposed to clear the weapon before entering, even if we have cleared it many times before. I have cleared my pistol about 28 times since I last had a bullet in it. Interestingly, the Air Force doesn't clear weapons before entering buildings.

Sometimes we get a soldier who screws up and doesn't properly remove the bullets. As part of the clearing procedure the soldier is supposed to check the chamber, and then pull the trigger. And that is the moment of truth. If you've botched it, a round goes off, and you're in big trouble.

This is serious business, because we are determined to prevent a soldier from getting shot by another soldier who failed to clear the weapon.

A week or so ago, a captain had a ND. Among other things, he was required to stand outside the DFAC at dinner (3 hours nightly) for a week and check weapons for clearing. I brought him coffee each night and stood with him for at least a while. I watch soldiers and look for trends, and report them to my boss, so weapons clearing procedures are something I pay attention to.

Last night I was standing by the captain and saw a soldier whip his rifle up to the clearing barrel and pump the charging handle a couple of times. I saw a flame leap from the end of the rifle, and saw debris blow back out of the barrel. The kid looked over at us the way a dog looks right before you kick it, and he staggered over with his mouth quivering like he was about to throw up. We wrote down his info, sent him off to dinner, and I called in the report. The captain was thrilled that I had been there because he was worried about being accused of not doing his job, and I could be a witness for the defense.

This kid had been on guard duty and forgot to remove his magazine. When he pulled back the charging handle, he loaded a round. He obviously didn't inspect the chamber as he should have.

Tonight I walked up to the captain again and watched as he checked weapons. I was there about 3 minutes when I saw a soldier point his rifle into the barrel, pull the charging handle back about half way, then pull the trigger. A loud bang and debris blowback signaled another ND. This young kid stood there, frozen, looking at us in disbelief. I signaled him and he stumbled woodenly over to us, like a zombie. However, his face was flushed, and he looked like he was going to cry. He didn't have a magazine. Turns out he had the bullet in his rifle since the day before, just carrying it around. He obviously did not properly clear it for two days. We sent him off to dinner, but he shook his head and stumbled off into the dark, a night of the living dead.

After getting his info, I went off to call it in. The captain said he was afraid for me to leave.

Given the emphasis we've been placing on proper clearing, there is no excuse for NDs. The commanders of these soldiers will doubtless be explaining why their soldiers are not following safety procedures. I'm glad I was just a witness.