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M777A2 Artillery Accident At Ft. Bragg Wounds 8 Marines and 2 Sailors
Eight Marines and two Navy sailors were injured Monday by an exploding artillery round during live fire training on Fort Bragg.A Marines spokesman said the round apparently exploded in the barrel of an M777A2, a lightweight howitzer cannon that fires 155mm artillery rounds. The blast was around 8 p.m near the intersection of Turkey and Chicken roads, said the spokesman, Staff Sgt. Jayson Price. Two of the injured troops were flown to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, and eight were taken to the Womack Army Medical Center emergency room, said Womack spokeswoman Shannon Lynch. A Fort Bragg news release said that of the eight people taken to Womack, five were flown there by helicopter and three were taken in ambulances by Fort Bragg and Hoke County emergency services workers. The majority of the injuries were shrapnel wounds and lacerations, according to Fort Bragg, which directed all other questions to Price. Price said the incident is under investigation. The troops were part of Camp Lejeune's Battery G, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Price said. The 10th Marine Regiment visits Fort Bragg every spring for artillery training. This year, the training started March 9 and was scheduled to end March 21. Price said Marines have halted all firing "until safe training can resume." The Marines began fielding the new howitzers in 2009. They weigh less than half the weight of traditional howitzers and are capable of firing precision-guided Excalibur rounds. Excalibur rounds can be programmed to land within 10 meters of a target more than 25 miles away. The training has been rattling houses in Fayetteville since it began. The 155mm ammunition causes loud explosions and reverberations upon detonation. Fort Bragg is the closest military training area to Camp Lejeune that can accept the 155mm weapons systems, a Fort Bragg spokesman said last month. Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-03-16 |
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