Fatality From Live Round in Dummy Ammo

It's heartbreaking when preventable accidents cause a young American soldier to die. In the following case, there was improper control of the ammunition prior to a training exercise and a violation of muzzle awareness principles.

From Army Times:

Pvt. Daniel Patrick Fisher, of Bassett, Va., died Oct. 4 when a machine gun accidentally discharged and struck him in the abdomen on the Army post's East Range.

The training was intended to teach new soldiers in basic training how to load and unload the weapon using only dummy ammunition. Live rounds weren't supposed to be involved.

Maj. Gen. Peter M. Vangjel, commanding general of the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, said trainees unknowingly loaded into the weapon a live .50-caliber round that had inadvertently become mixed with dummy ammunition.

Administrative and disciplinary actions were taken to preclude recurrence.

Condolences to the family and friends of Pvt. Fisher.