Any military guys know if this happens alot in training to some guys and we just don't here about it? or did it ever happen in any or your guys classes. It would be interesting to know.
I did work with some other guys that used to be marines and they said that quite a few people were killed in livefire accidents
Too often. I served with company C, 1st Ranger battalion, '80-82. Several Rangers were hit and a few killed. The trick is proper control, a good plan, and good execution. The liabilities are numerous. Rehearsals are critical as are following and maintaining the four principles of operations. But often luck does play a part: Tripping, falling, etc. In '99 I had metal removed from my back that I was not even aware was there. The incident occurred in '80. Even those things happen. In large units, such as company or battalion size units, the dynamics are far greater and so are the possibilities for accidents. Negligence is unacceptable and costs careers or worse.
shareAccidents happen all of the time and the term live fire is really quite vague and can encompass a lot more than just stray bullets. When I was at ft Bragg doing contract work sometime around 2001 or so a mortar was fired incorrectly and killed a couple soldiers on the main base (don't know all the details) and I heard of a similar accident occurring at Ft Drum. I also got to attend a live fire demonstration at Ft Riley around 1989 that was put on for family and VIP's. It was cut short when an MLRS caught fire and had to be abandoned by the crew. Nobody was injured but there was a very real danger of whatever live munitions onboard going off.
Even with the MILES laser simulation system I worked on (basically laser tag), pyrotechnic charges were used to replicate the characteristics (smoke, recoil, etc.) of live rocket and tank rounds and those carried a slight hazard.
The military tries the best it can to "train like we fight" which is why they use live ammo and there will be a fair number of live fire incidents resulting in injury or death that aren't exclusive to special forces type units. And as others have commented, you can add vehicle accidents, parachute jumps, helicopter repelling, bomb loading, sailors falling overboard and a ton of other training activities to the list of training related fatalities.
I was a leadership instructor(Primary, Basic and Advanced leadership courses) while in Army before I retired. One of the classes I taught was "Risk Management". The stats for those killed in training will shock some. More soldiers (Army) have died in training accidents then all the wars (combat deaths) combined.
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