theserpentswall
Tenderfoot
With winter digging on old military ground, here's a reminder worth repeating. The US military's explosives safety program sums it up as the 3 Rs: Recognize, Retreat, Report.
- Recognize: shells, grenades, fuzes, mortar rounds, and anything with a nose cone, fins or a driving band. Civil War shells can still be live, and so can items from old training and practice ranges.
- Retreat: don't move it, tap it, unscrew the fuze or try to clean it. Leave it where it is, mark the spot from a distance and walk back the way you came.
- Report: call 911 or the local police, who will bring in military bomb disposal. Note the location, and only take photos from a safe distance.
Corrosion doesn't make old ordnance safe. Old black powder and fillers can get more sensitive with age, and people have been killed restoring Civil War shells at home. No find is worth that.
- Recognize: shells, grenades, fuzes, mortar rounds, and anything with a nose cone, fins or a driving band. Civil War shells can still be live, and so can items from old training and practice ranges.
- Retreat: don't move it, tap it, unscrew the fuze or try to clean it. Leave it where it is, mark the spot from a distance and walk back the way you came.
- Report: call 911 or the local police, who will bring in military bomb disposal. Note the location, and only take photos from a safe distance.
Corrosion doesn't make old ordnance safe. Old black powder and fillers can get more sensitive with age, and people have been killed restoring Civil War shells at home. No find is worth that.
