USFK Apologizes for Bullet that Struck Moving SUV Near Rodriguez Range
With the amount of people that continue move into and drive in the area around Rodriguez Range these safety incidents are going to continue. However, with that said there really is no where else to go to conduct live fire training on the scale Rodriguez Range provides:
The command responsible for U.S. ground operations in South Korea has taken responsibility for a stray bullet that struck a moving car last week, according to Pocheon city officials.
Eighth Army, headquartered at Camp Humphreys south of the capital, “sincerely [feels] responsible for this accident,” Lt. Gen. Willard Burleson said during a meeting with Pocheon officials Wednesday, according to a news release from the city the next day.
Burleson said the command plans to “permanently close” the firing lane where the accident occurred and relocate training to a safer area, according to the release.
The Oct. 24 incident occurred less than a mile from the 3,390-acre Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, where U.S. and South Korean troops train 16 miles from the Demilitarized Zone.
The windshield of an SUV driven by a South Korean man was struck at 6:30 a.m. by a 5.56 mm bullet, according to Pocheon police. The driver was not injured.
The incident is still under investigation; however, a preliminary analysis “identified an issue with one of the firing lanes,” Eighth Army public affairs director Lt. Col. Juan Martinez wrote in a statement emailed Friday.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link and fortunately the man driving the car was not injured by this errant round.
So did the guy who shot a moving target a mile away that he couldn’t see get a medal?
The American military may have hope yet, if it is populated by marksmen of this quality.
Next up: independent study combat driving training using all those taxis sitting in front of convenience stores with the engine running.
I inadvertently shot a 2.75 inch rocket over the range barrier at nightmare range due to a tail wind once. We didn’t have those issues at Rodriguez as there was more firing pad maneuver room as well as a better long round barrier, must have been a hell of a ricochet by a 5.56 round with very little velocity left. I’ve experienced worse windshield damage driving behind a stone truck on the local tollways. Admittedly the sound of the stone hitting the windshield is a bit startling.