Machine gun rounds start fire

[Janet Harrington]

The Tulsa news is reporting that people shooting machine guns at a gun range close to Muskogee started a wild fire that sent lots and lots of smoke into the city of Tulsa.

This got me to wondering. If you are in a firefight while in Iraq or Afghanistan and you are using a machine gun and it starts a fire, what do you do? Do you try to put the fire out? Do you not worry about it because maybe it will burn up the enemy? What is the responsibility of the military in a war zone?

I know to those of you who have fought in wars think this is a stupid questions, but I think about things like this. I have never been in a firefight of any kind and have never served in the military, so someone tell me what the thought is when this happens.

[srkruzich]

i've heard it said that if you want something destroyed send in the marine corp.  I suspect fires usually are left up to the civilians to put out unless it jeapordizes the military operation.

[Janet Harrington]

i've heard it said that if you want something destroyed send in the marine corp.  I suspect fires usually are left up to the civilians to put out unless it jeapordizes the military operation.

LOL, skruzich. Wonder what jarhead will say about that?

[srkruzich]

LOL, skruzich. Wonder what jarhead will say about that?

I'll bet he'll agree!

[doobie]

My God Janet-----In all your years working for the SO you never had a call from Elk Falls concerning "Fire Started From Gunfire"??Isn't that a 10-88??

[Janet Harrington]

doobie, I don't remember ever responding to any fires like that. LOL Doesn't mean it didn't happen and doesn't mean that I didn't know about it. I have just forgotten. Getting as old as you, almost.

[Diane Amberg]

I can answer that but I'll wait for the "guys of old" to answer first.

[jarhead]

Janet.
Don't know about other wars but in Nam why would we worry about a fire that might have been started by a tracer round when there's a pretty good chance if we were firing a M-60 there was a real good chance we would be calling for a Phantom to drop a little Napalm. Now that made a REAL fire---and crispy critters !!
Now Steve, that just aint fair saying my beloved Corps destroys things. Me and my buddies in Nam were all pacifist. More than once I heard our motto was "Peace love--peace love-------but "mess " with us and we will kill all you sons a bitches "

[larryJ]

Now, Jarhead, old buddy, old pal.....................everyone knows that the m.......Marines go in first and level everything in sight.  Then the Army goes in, does a little spot cleaning and then rebuilds what the Marines tore down.  That's how it has always been.  That's why the Army has all those plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.  Marines ain't got none of those.  Don't need 'em.

What you say about fires is true.  Why worry about a little brush fire when the Phantoms are coming?  Remember the movie "Apocalypse Now"?  Robert DuVall standing up during a firefight............."I love the smell of napalm in the morning.."

Larryj

[Sarge]

The last thing on your mind when bullets are flying is a fire that may have started and as tarhead said, napalm makes a big fire.
My Grandad, a WWI veteran, said that the Army done all the fighting and when that was over the Marines came in to get their pictures taken.