Small Arms: Always THINK When Handling Weapons

Soldiers, when handling your weapon, don’t be complacent or undisciplined; instead, remember to THINK. Accidents are more likely to happen in a deployed environment versus garrison because Soldiers become relaxed with weapon handling.

Some of the most common ways unintentional discharges happen are when:

• cleaning, clearing or performing a functions check.
• entering or exiting vehicles.
• retrieving, uploading or emplacing weapons.
• following a change of mission, duty or weapon's status.
• joking or playing around pointing a weapon at yourself or someone else.
• handling a weapon with which you’re unfamiliar.
• becoming distracted and fiddling with a weapon and unmindfully pulling the trigger.
• improper headspace and timing and accidental ricochet or shrapnel incidents occur. (These don’t happen as often but are still a hazard.)

Here are some tips to help stop unintentional discharges.

• Don’t use weapons you haven’t been trained on or that haven’t been inspected for serviceability.
• When clearing a weapon, always remove the source of ammunition (magazine, belt, etc.). 
• Never clean weapons with a magazine inserted.
• Always avoid holsters that orient muzzles towards personnel. This should be stated in command policy.
• Use the proper gauge. The M2 and M3 are not interchangeable.
• When firing your individual weapon from the gunner's station, make sure the muzzle has cleared the turret. A good way to do this is to put the barrel over the turret.
• Include guidance on the handling and use of foreign weapons and ammunition in command policy.
• Always THINK weapons safety!

For more information on safety, visit the US Army Combat Readiness Center.