Tragedy as soldier accidentally tosses grenade after trying to aim down iron sights

January 22, 2012 10:08 pm

The UK’s Ministry of Defence is investigating reports that a soldier accidentally took out a hand grenade, pulled the pin and threw it whilst in an enclosed space, killing his entire squad.

In an unauthorised statement Private James O’Neil admitted inadvertently causing the deaths of his colleagues, but claimed that insufficient training prior to deployment had led to the disastrous mistake.

O’Neil’s regiment had just arrived in an Unnamed Middle Eastern Location when the deadly gaffe occurred, just minutes after completing his training.

“I was attempting to familiarise myself with my gear”, O’Neil writes on his blog. “I was practicing moving forwards, moving backwards, side-to-side… you know, the basics. I tried a few jumps and then a little bit of crawling. Everything was going quite well and I’d even managed to reload, something I always forget how to do. But then I tried aiming down my iron sights and it all went horribly wrong. Before I knew it I’d grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin and thrown it in the direction I was facing. I couldn’t believe what was happening!”

In the lengthy and emotional blog post O’Neil explains that the grenade landed at the feet of his fellow soldiers who unsuccessfully attempted to take cover.

“My colleagues tried to get away from the grenade but they kept running into each other, making escape impossible. Josh tried to use a table as cover, but he ended up crouching on the wrong side and got blown apart. I’ve never felt so embarrassed!”

This is the latest in a long line of military blunders that have cast doubt on the quality of training offered to new recruits. Only recently a field medic died after attempting to pilot a $55 million Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, for which he held no licence.

O’Neil claims that he and other young soldiers were only required to complete a rudimentary obstacle course before being sent to the front line.

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me I was ready for combat”, O’Neil writes. “I thought I would have to undertake weeks, if not months of training, but the whole induction lasted less than three minutes.”

Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Defence, stated that the latest boob was an isolated incident and that he had full confidence in the training offered to military personnel.

The Ministry of Defence has refused to comment until its investigation has been completed.



2 Comments

  • I must admit, I’ve always wondered why any class in Battlefield can fly jets, drive tanks etc. Would be interesting if they made them class specific.

Leave a Reply


Other News

  • Featured Industry Indie dev disappointed at low piracy rates of new game

    Indie dev disappointed at low piracy rates of new game

    More than a month after he proudly released his debut game into the world, independent developer Andrew Watson has expressed his dismay at the disappointingly low number of entitled freeloaders who have so far bothered to pirate it.

    “Everybody knows that pirates are degenerate bottom-feeders with absolutely no sense of decency” said Watson, who has spent the last five years holed up in his bedroom writing the game. “They know my game is available on all the major torrent sites and yet they continue not to download it for nothing. I simply can’t understand the mentality that drives these robbing tightwads not to just go ahead and pinch it already.”

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry E3 2012: Boobs top ‘most wanted’ poll

    E3 2012: Boobs top ‘most wanted’ poll

    A ‘most wanted’ poll conducted by IGN has revealed that 93% of gamers are hoping that boobs will make an appearance at E3 2012, the famous video game convention due to take place in June.

    Runners-up in the poll included hot asses, awesome legs and Luigi’s Mansion 2. However, the results are likely to fuel concerns that E3 has become something of a flesh parade, with industry professionals adamant that scorching hot “booth babes” are increasingly using the event to seduce them.

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry People claiming video games cause violent and aggressive behavior should be shot, say gamers

    People claiming video games cause violent and aggressive behavior should be shot, say gamers

    Gamers have reacted angrily to the findings of a recent study that suggests playing video games significantly increases aggression levels, demanding that the authors of the “sensationalist research” be taken outside and shot.

    “These bastards deserve to die”, said one furious Battlefield 3 player. “I’m sick to death of these f**kers talking sh*t about our hobby, spouting pseudo-scientific gobbledygook in a bid to make a name for themselves. I’d love to get my hands on these so-called scientists and give them a real good kicking. Let’s see how smart they are with my foot up their ass”.

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry Activision confirms Black Ops 2 will feature guns

    Activision confirms Black Ops 2 will feature guns

    Following months of speculation, teasers and leaked screenshots, Activision has at last confirmed that Black Ops 2 will feature guns – lots of them.

    With the launch of the official website, fans of the innovative series were astonished to discover that the latest instalment will also include online competitive play, a leveling system and a whole host of ludicrously overpowered killstreaks, all of which will be powered by the ground-breaking Call of Duty 4 engine.

    Read more →
  • Industry Damien Hirst snaps PS3 game in half, video games now unanimously considered art

    Damien Hirst snaps PS3 game in half, video games now unanimously considered art

    The debate as to whether video games can ever be art  ended today when UK artist Damien Hirst, frustrated at his inability to gain the notoriously difficult platinum trophy in Dark Souls, snapped his disc in half, inadvertently transforming it into a $3 million masterpiece. Artists the world over have since agreed that video games can now officially be considered art, with gamers free to comment on the beauty of their favorite games without sounding like pretentious douchebags. “It’s quite a relief”, said one Word of Warcraft [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry Peter Molyneux promises his next lie will be the best lie he’s ever told

    Peter Molyneux promises his next lie will be the best lie he’s ever told

    Peter Molyneux, the brains behind Fable and the ill-fated Project Milo, has assured fans that he is currently working on the biggest and most outrageous lie of his career, a lie so grand in scope and vision that it will change gaming, perhaps even life as we know it, forever.

    The self-proclaimed king of really big fibs recently left Lionhead, the Microsoft owned studio he founded 15 years ago, to set up 22Cans – the name being a subtle reference to the amount of beer he had consumed the night he decided to go it alone. However, Molyneux is adamant that his ninja-like skills of deception remain unscathed and that his next lie will change everything.

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry Nintendo worried America doesn’t have enough cupboard space for the Wii U

    Nintendo worried America doesn’t have enough cupboard space for the Wii U

    With the Wii and its numerous peripherals already estimated to be occupying 85% of the nation’s cupboard space, Nintendo is increasingly anxious that consumers simply won’t have anywhere to put its next console – the Wii U.

    “It’s a big problem”, admitted Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and chief operating officer. “Whereas people generally like to keep their Xboxes and PlayStations under the TV, the Wii is almost always given pride of place in the cupboard, usually right at the back. American consumers are no doubt looking at the Wii U and thinking: ‘damn that’s hot, but is my cupboard really big enough for another Nintendo console?’”

    Read more →
  • Featured Industry Konami hoping to silence critics with new Silent Hill ADHD Collection

    Konami hoping to silence critics with new Silent Hill ADHD Collection

    Still reeling from the poor sales of the Silent Hill HD Collection and desperate to recoup some of its losses, Konami today announced that it would be releasing a revised version specifically designed for today’s easily distracted gamer: The Silent Hil ADHD Collection.

    Konami spokesman Donald Jenkins explained that unlike the standard HD collection which forced players to relive the tedious drudgery of the original games, Silent Hill ADHD would be a modern, more exciting retelling of the renowned survival horror franchise, finally giving players the opportunity to pit their wits against enormous time-travelling space robots.

    Read more →