Army investigating how M1 Abrams accidentally fired on another tank at Fort Bliss, injuring a soldier (Marines, training)

[Suburban_Guy]

How the heck does something like this happen, at all??

https://www.armytimes.com/2020/07/24...ing-a-soldier/

Officials fromt the 1st Armored Division are investigating an incident involving an M1 Abrams main battle tank accidently firing on another tank during a training exercise at Fort Bliss on July 20.

The training incident, during an M1 Abrams tank qualification exercise, was first reported by Defence Blog and confirmed to Military Times by Army officials.

One soldier was injured, received immediate medical assistance, and is recovering in stable condition, according to Lt. Col. Lindsey Elder, an Army public affairs officer.

[Tioga]

Lucky that the incoming was a training round. Back in the stone age we had a sorta kinda similar event happen..The tank crew that fired the round was off that range asap.

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by Tioga

Lucky that the incoming was a training round. Back in the stone age we had a sorta kinda similar event happen..The tank crew that fired the round was off that range asap.

The problem goes a lot further up than a tank commander and crew unless they were like the pilot who pulls onto an active runway without clearance.

[m1a1mg]

It happens more than you will ever know. To make training realistic, it needs to be tough and challenging. Someone, overeager, gets ahead of the game. Despite what master gunners like myself try to do to mitigate incidents, things happen.

[Taiko]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

It happens more than you will ever know. To make training realistic, it needs to be tough and challenging. Someone, overeager, gets ahead of the game. Despite what master gunners like myself try to do to mitigate incidents, things happen.

I guess range standards changed since my day. They were upgrading the ranges when I left active duty to accommodate the M1

[SluggoF16]

I wonder why it doesn't happen more often. Safety is the number one priority for me now, since I manage a weapons range, yet I see lots of "opportunities to excel". Especially when someone doesn't check the overlay... I have had several incidents where contractors, soldiers and especially sportsmen have blundered into a live impact area because they didn't pay attention to the schedule, the signage, or their maps (mostly retired E-9 and O-6).

With technology today (GPS or in training with phones and Avensa Maps), though, it should be easy to avoid the areas, and to PID the target. Fortunately where I am we have mostly aircraft dropping munitions and a range officer in a tower overseeing the attacks, verifying the aircraft run-in, and overseeing the target area.

I knew an ALO who was fired after he allowed F-16s to ripple six BDU-33 training bombs (25 lbs with a spotting charge) through an M-1 that was putting out smoke as a screen. The F-16 reported "tally the smoke" and the ALO/GFAC cleared him hot without verifying run-in. The target, at Drinkwater Lake at NTC, Fort Irwin, was marked by a white phosphorus smoke round but the bigger "eye magnet" smoke was from an M-1 on the valley edge. A 25-lb BDU-33 only leaves a blue paint scrape on an M-1, but had it been real 500 pounders or CBU the end result would've been devastating, even to an Abrams.

Bottom Line: Always verify what you're shooting at, whether with a tank gun, a rifle, an aircraft or a laser.

[abnfdc]

I've never been on any of the Bliss ranges, and I don't know what type of live fire they were conducting, but it is not hard to imagine an out of place vehicle or other mishap in a platoon or larger livefire. Plenty of reasons why it shouldn't have happened, but it happens.

S*** happens. Luckily the only casualties are an injured Soldier and a few careers. This will likely bring in a good training vignette for local units, and hopefully will not result in any onerous range restrictions.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

It happens more than you will ever know. To make training realistic, it needs to be tough and challenging. Someone, overeager, gets ahead of the game. Despite what master gunners like myself try to do to mitigate incidents, things happen.

For sure. When you play with guns, practicing to rain death and destruction on your enemies, [stuff] happens. When I was in the Army in the 70s/80s I was aware of a number of such incidents...and was on the receiving end a few times...both training and otherwise. "Friendly fire."

[PFM]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

It happens more than you will ever know. To make training realistic, it needs to be tough and challenging. Someone, overeager, gets ahead of the game. Despite what master gunners like myself try to do to mitigate incidents, things happen.

Didn't they have a NG M60 fire into the turret of another one in the 80s? My buddy was a tanker in the Marines in the late 80s and has pictures that will curl your hair - had never seen the breech of a 105 driven into the back wall of the turret before...

[m1a1mg]

I am a retired M1A1 Master Gunner. Hence the name. I've seen a lot of stupid (stuff).