A new state of the art safety system has been put in place at the firing range at Camp Lejeune. This measure was taken after a fatal accident occurred at this firing range for marines and sailors. Two years ago a navy corpsman working in the pit was shot and killed by a ricochet bullet.
At the bases' Stone Bay Rifle Range new pit sensors have been installed in three ranges said Brian Pensak, the executive officer for Weapons Training Battalion. The new system consists of an alarm that goes off if someone or something is in the impact area or crossed the red line in place. Cameras and a laser are also used to monitor activity there as well.
Near the catwalk of the Stone Bay rifle range, 24 inches can mean the difference between being safe and being dead. That’s about how far 29-year-old Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew King, a corpsman on duty at the range, had ventured into the off-limits zone behind the target stands in February 2009 when a ricocheting bullet entered his heart and killed him at the scene.
While that tragic accident is the only recorded fatality since the range opened in the early 1940s, King’s death was the impetus for innovative safety technology that makes it nearly impossible for Marines or sailors working at the range to cross the red line unnoticed.
The sensors, mounted flush with the old painted red lines, rely on two photoelectric beams and a camera system to do the job once handled by a non-commissioned officer in a lookout post. If anyone crosses into the ricochet zone during live fire, the sensors will trigger an alarm that uses a piercing siren and flashing lights to alert the lookout.
This is one of the first innovations of its kind in decades on the range, which is used by roughly 28,000 troops every year for annual marksmanship qualification, competitions and training.“Prior to this, the procedures that we’ve had in place have been used basically since World War I,” Pensak said.
The new system gives the NCOs managing the pits additional peace of mind, pit NCO Sgt. Blain Stanfield said.“Before we got the system, it was a lot harder for a pit NCO. We were always looking left and right to see if anybody was going behind,” Stanfield said. “Now, it’s a lot easier for me to focus on the pit operations as part of marksmanship.”
Marines or sailors who cross the red line during live fire to use the restrooms or retrieve items can be thrown off the range and denied the chance to qualify, which can adversely affect their fitness reports and jeopardize their careers. The cameras, which hold up to two months of playback footage, are a way to hold troops accountable for breaking the rules, he said.
“If they tried to use the excuse, ‘It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me,’ I can play it back and say, ‘Yes, it was,’” Stanfield said.
So far, Stone Bay is the first base to use the new sensors, which cost about $18,000 per range to install. But Pensak said he is aware of interest from Parris Island and said Marine Corps Installations East commander Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen, who pushed for the new technology, has recommended it to other general officers.