encore A Close Call I
An executive offi cer’s assistant gets a scare — and perhaps learns a valuable lesson — after his fi nd during a drill weekend turns out to be something unexpected.
I was the executive officer for a west- ern state reserve unit. My assistant had transferred in from another unit. One drill weekend, we were in the
fi eld. We pulled our jeeps into the woods at the fort and began setting up a command post. The commander and the S-3 were at a post safety briefi ng, so I was in charge. Most of the soldiers were longtime veterans, and things were moving along smoothly. I noticed my assistant had wandered off , but chow time was approaching, so I knew he would return soon. We all had taken a break and were opening our lunch MREs, when my as- sistant fi nally reappeared. He was carry- ing something in his hand that I couldn’t quite make out. “Hey, Major,” he called out as he ap-
proached the command post. “Look what I found on the jeep trail. It was partially buried, with only a little bit sticking out.” He was holding what appeared to be a small bomb, maybe 9 to 10 inches long, complete with fi ns. “Put that down,” I ordered. “It could
be a live round!” “Oh no, sir. I’m sure it’s just a training
round,” he replied. I was so shocked. I couldn’t believe
what I was seeing. “Put it down, now!” I yelled. He made a face and dropped it at the base of the tree.
80 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2012
“Get some engineer tape, and mark it,” I said. “Don’t let anyone get close to it.” He gave me a look but obeyed. A few minutes later, I was on the radio
to range control, who promised to send explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) out to have a look. My assistant ate his MRE and sulked for about an hour before the EOD team arrived. The EOD noncommis- sioned offi cer (NCO) gave a low whistle. “This used to be a range many years ago until they shut it down and cleaned it up,” he said. “That’s an old World War II-era tank rifl e grenade. They obviously missed it.” My assistant asked in
a quiet voice, “But it’s a training round, right?” “No, sir,” the NCO
replied. “That’s got enough power in it to blow a nice hole in a World War II German or Japanese tank.”
The EOD team carefully loaded
the rifl e grenade into a heavy metal box and drove away. I didn’t see any more of my assistant until chow time that evening.
MO
— Thomas Reidy is a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel. He lives in Greenbackville, Va. For submission information, see page 6.
Tell Your Story Submit your service- related adventures (or mishaps) of 450 to 500 words by email to
encore@moaa.org or by mail to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
ILLUSTRATION: MARILYN JANOVITZ
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