An accident and a briefing

Editor's note: As a special service for our readers, WND is running a series of dispatches from Allan Wall chronicling his transition from civilian life as he prepares to fight with his National Guard unit in Iraq. Allan will write for us as often as he is able in order to let our readers vicariously experience what people in his position are going through. We hope you will check regularly for Allan's dispatches and encourage your friends and family to do likewise.

In an earlier dispatch (Dispatch No. 18: "Target Practice") I described the Army firing ranges and how they operate. I invite you to read it, if you've not already.

My National Guard unit is still at Fort XYZ, preparing for duty in Iraq. One night, for the first time, I was present when an accident occurred at a firing range. Thankfully, nobody was seriously or fatally injured.

It was a night-firing qualification session, and about 15 of us from my unit went to the range to shoot our rifles at night. Most of us were scheduled to fire at the end of the session, so we were sitting in the bleachers, in front of the firing line. It looked to be a long wait. I, in fact, was half-asleep, sitting there with my cheek resting on my palm (but with my helmet on, as per the rules of the range).

Suddenly, I was awakened by a commotion. Right there in front of the bleachers,(where we ourselves had been standing shortly before), a soldier was crumpled before us. He had been hit by a bullet.

Reaction to the accident was immediate. The injured man's shirt was removed and he was bandaged (he had been shot on the shoulder). Everybody not directly involved in the rescue effort was sent to the other side of the road, so as not to get in the way. An ambulance arrived, and after that a helicopter, which airlifted the wounded soldier out, in what is known in the Army as a "medevac," or medical evacuation.

The firing range was shut down, and nobody else shot a rifle that night. But we couldn't just leave either. Everyone on the range was held there for several hours so we could be questioned, to find out why a stray round hit a man behind the firing line. I personally hadn't seen it (being half-asleep), but some of my companions had, and vividly described it.

We stayed there until 1 a.m., when we were released. So we returned to our barracks and turned in our rifles at the arms room. The next day, I was among a large group of guardsmen who attended some briefings in a large theater. The briefings were classes on subjects to prepare us for Iraq. One briefing was imparted by a university professor who discussed Iraq, and Arab culture in general. Another was presented by a professional negotiator who discussed negotiation techniques and showed us how to work with an interpreter.

Another briefing was imparted by a U.S. military Muslim chaplain, who presented an overview of Islam. The presentation was valuable insofar as it presented the basics of the Muslim religion. However, he left out a lot of material. The Muslim chaplain did not mention subjects such as dhimmitude, Dar al-Islam vs. Dar al-Harb, the lack of religious freedom in the Muslim world and the details of Sharia law – all of those topics were omitted.

Among all the soldiers present at the briefings, guess who was there? None other than the same soldier who had been shot the night before, sporting a big green sling! And it looked like he was doing fine. That was a credit to the rapid response given him the night before when other soldiers took control of the situation and rescued a wounded comrade.