Mariiiiiiine training, SIR!

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smithers599
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Re: Mariiiiiiine training, SIR!

#16

Post by smithers599 »

I hate to pile on the poor guys, but this news item just appeared a few days ago.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pu ... edirect=on
Shortly before 5 a.m. on Jan. 1, after finishing a tour of guard duty, Johnson unloaded his Beretta alone rather than wait for a supervisor to watch him, McKenna said.
He said investigators later concluded that Johnson fatally reversed the unloading steps: First he pulled back the pistol’s slide, ejecting the bullet from the chamber – but apparently he did not remember that when the slide sprung forward, it pushed a fresh round into the chamber. Then he removed the clip, and thought the weapon was empty, McKenna said.
  • He didn't wait for a supervisor to watch him unload. Wait, what? Marines aren't capable of unloading a pistol without being observed by a supervisor? (Well, apparently not.)
  • He didn't know how to unload a pistol.
  • He was not aware of Rules One (All guns are always loaded) and Two (Don't point a gun at anything you are not prepared to destroy).
  • He thought it would be "funny" to point a gun at his friend and pull the trigger.
  • The Marines seem not to know the difference between a cartridge and a bullet, or a magazine and a clip.
Massive incompetence all around.


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smithers599
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Re: Mariiiiiiine training, SIR!

#17

Post by smithers599 »

[double tap]
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AJS214
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Re: Mariiiiiiine training, SIR!

#18

Post by AJS214 »

When I think of training incidents, I usually think something along the lines of ultimately very costly lessons in the way we train that are occasionally re-learned. From 'Dog Guy' on P-F:

"On the subject of preventing these events by procedures and buddy checks: see https://www.wildfirelessons.net/HigherL ... ceDialog=0 for a very good analysis of how humans miss the obvious. This was a helirappel fatal accident during training. Read the executive summary for context, and look at the photos on pages 21 through 27 so you'll understand what a total face palm this was for four trained people to miss an incorrect configuration. You can then skip to the Human Factors Analysis starting on page 33 (or just read the whole thing, which would be well worth your time). They do an excellent job of explaining the ways we can miss the obvious, or see the
obvious and convince ourselves that it's ok when it isn't."

That post was in a thread talking about an FoF exercise with Doral (FL) PD on Miami-Dade's facility where someone took a live round.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/ ... 28117.html

In the case of what you posted, which I unfortunately must presume wasn't just a Marine but an MA, this seems more like a problem child (given a previous record of misconduct with weapons) combined with a failure at multiple levels of leadership (at the very least for not sticking him on admin duty for being caught on video waving his pistol around while dancing, on duty at the Marine Barracks in our nation's capital). Even if we go along with the defense attorney's narrative, I don't think there's anyone in his chain of command that could be held responsible for NOT telling him pointing 'unloaded' guns at your buddy is a no-go. I don't think this quite fits the bill as a training inadequacy.
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