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Todayâs Rantburg Safety Briefing
There will be a quiz later:SINGAPORE: Two army safety officers made a mistake during a live-firing exercise last month, resulting in an explosion in a machine gun which injured four SAF servicemen. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said if they are found to be negligent, disciplinary action will be taken against them. The incident began during a night live-firing exercise about two weeks ago at the Armour Training Centre. It was a dark and stormy night.... A 0.5-inch machine gun jammed, and the gunner tried to clear the weapon but could not. "Ah, crap! Hey, Sarge, the fiftyâs jammed!" The chief safety officer and vehicle safety officer then inspected the weapon. "Hummmm, yup. Thatâs a jam alright. Yup, yup." They assessed that there were no live rounds jammed in the machine gun and ordered the weapon taken back to camp. "Pull it off and send it back to the shop." They were wrong. There was actually a round in the chamber. OOPS! The next day, four servicemen tried to fix the jammed weapon but this caused an explosion in the machine gun. "Just a tap on the breach with this hammer..KABOOM! One of the soldiers had to undergo surgery to remove shrapnel from his eyes and face. Safety glasses, anyone? Rear Admiral Teo said: "Incorrect procedures were adopted by the two officers at the range to check whether the jammed weapon was free from any ammunitions. The actions taken to rectify the jammed weapon after it was brought back to the unit were also incorrect. Disciplinary action will be taken against individuals found to be negligent or found to have contravened the established procedures and safety regulations leading to this incident." Rule Number One: Thereâs no such thing as a unloaded weapon. Rule Number Two: The T.O. is there for a reason, follow it. Rule Number Three: See rule number one. Posted by: Steve 2004-03-08 |
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