[XJarhead]

Clearly, the people who think this is a big deal have no military experience with combat units.

According to the link, this was a non-live fire exercise. Such exercises are extremely common, because you cannot train against an opposing force with live ammo. Otherwise, you'll be killing your own people. There have been plenty of training accidents where exactly that scenario occured --troops who were supposed to have blanks only somehow ended up with live rounds. In most cases, nobody gets hurt. But in some very tragic ones, people have been killed.

Every non-live fire training exercise I ever organized or led began with checking each Marine to ensure that they did not have any live ammunition.

[centurion316]

"Every non-live fire training exercise I ever organized or led began with checking each Marine to ensure that they did not have any live ammunition. "

The voice of reason amongst the cacaphony of ignorance. Thank you for educating the clueless.

[fogarty]

One thing to look at is local security. If in fact Marines were undergoing a training exercise with no ammo in a particular sensitive area of the world (with almost all forces at Force Protection Alpha or Bravo), you would think there would local security assigned, with live ammo. At the very least, road guards with live ammo.

We need to look at the ROE for the MAGTF, who established it, and why. Idiotic ROEs have caused the deaths of Marines before - and it may be the case here also.

[Yasotay]

You are 100% correct. Good posts.

[Lazamataz]

While all you say is correct, it is probably prudent to have a perimeter around the training area with non-participants who have live ammo.

At least in a potentially hostile area like Kuwait.

[ladtx]

Right you are XJarhead. There are some truly clueless people on some of these threads.

SCOUTS OUT!

[fourdeuce82d]

Every non-live fire training exercise I ever organized or led began with checking each Marine to ensure that they did not have any live ammunition.

I remember that from the army back at bragg- but there were a couple of guys in my platoon who always carried a couple of stripper clips in a cargo pocket. I wonder if the some of the EMs will start making that a practice, regardless of what the chain of command says.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... Every non-live fire training exercise I ever organized or led began with checking each Marine to ensure that they did not have any live ammunition."

That's true.

[Young Werther]

This may be late to this post but the "MPs" were armed and did their duty.

The Air Force stopped hauling around A-Bombs on training missions when the mid air occurred over Spain. Mind you earlier accidents which left radioactive garbage in Greenland and off the coast of the Carolinas did not inititally change the policy.

Be that as it may, "Rest in Peace Marine" We Will remember your service and sacrifice.