November 02, 2009
Explosion at Bragg OP Kills Civilian
If I recall correctly, we're in the middle of Robin Sage, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how exploding civilians could be related to a military training exercise.
An explosion on a Fort Bragg observation point killed a civilian Friday, Fort Bragg spokeswoman Jackie Thomas said Sunday.Two civilians were in the area when the blast went off at 12:15 p.m., Thomas said.
One was killed, the other was not injured. The names of the victims were not released. Thomas said they were not Army employees.
It sounds like these civilians were probably not supposed to be there, but the statement is so antiseptic that we can't be sure exactly what is going on.
I'm going to recall an old NCIS episode and wonder if they might have been hunting scrap metal on a bombing range and set off unexploded ordnance.
Update: When I'm good, I'm good. Score one for Darwin:
Fort Bragg officials say a civilian killed in an explosion at the North Carolina Army post was scavenging for scrap metal when he stepped on a round and it exploded.
So he was looking for scrap ordnance, eh? Looks like he found some, the hard way.
Posted by: Tim at November 2, 2009 05:15 PMThe folks that collect metal are looking for spent ammo casings and other high value material. They know they can be killed, because in those areas the Base broadcasts warnings on Radio and TV. A real danger for them are Bomblets. They are the size of a Hard Ball, or just a little bigger. When dispersed, they spin up and are supposed to arm and blow up immediately when they stop spinning on impact. Some don't. They blow up later. When disturbed. Or maybe not. I picked up 1016 of them in cleanup after Tet, 1969 in RVN. That was after tractor drags blew the armed ones. Not fun. 2000, and we were off detail.
Brass from 20 MM and 30MM cannon is a great lure for scavengers. In Arizona and New Mexico I got acquainted with a some folks that did it for a living.
Posted by: Marc at November 2, 2009 09:19 PM
