Training accidents

On June 2, nine soldiers were killed when their light medium tactical vehicle (truck) was swept away while crossing a flooded stream at Fort Hood, Texas. Three soldiers were recovered alive and all bodies were also recovered. The 1st Cavalry Division soldiers were taking part in a training exercise.

Last November a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Fort Hood, and last week a pilot with the Navy Blue Angels was killed in a training practice flight.

According to U.S. Army accident statistics, between Oct. 1, 2015 and June 5, 2016, there were 60 soldiers killed in accidents in the U.S. Army. Each and every one of those killed are mourned by family, friends and comrades, and all of these deaths are subjects of accident investigations by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center with the goal of preventing further accidents.

Civilians have to understand military training can be inherently dangerous. Training is meant to prepare troops to perform in combat situations using vehicles, aircraft, explosives and weapons in military training that simulates actual combat situations. It is not hard to understand that nighttime low-level helicopter flights to insert troops into rough or wooded terrain assume a certain level of risk for the aircraft, crew and troops they are carrying. Similar levels of danger exist in Air Force, Navy and Marine training scenarios troops face on a regular basis. The balancing act between realistic training and safety is the responsibility of commanders at all levels, and they are held to answer for bad decisions resulting in accidents and injuries.

Military training cannot always be the equivalent of similar civilian activities. Removing all risks from training means that training may not adequately prepare our forces for combat. Troops who encounter conditions they are not prepared for could suffer more casualties in actual combat. As the Chinese proverb says, "The more we sweat in training, the less we bleed in battle."

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.