AR 15-6 Investigation, ordnance Explosion, Doha,

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    5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(6)
    
     explosion. He was masked by the APC from the effects of the
     blast and survived the accident with possible heari
     but was otherwise unharmed. The two EOD personnel,
     and           were unloading the trailer when the or nance.
     expioaed. The 11th ACR soldier who died                 was
     walking past the trailer at the time of  e exp os on for an
     unknown reason. No duties required his presence near the
     trailer.
    
        c.    The three soldiers who died were not wearing flak vests
     or helmets, in clear violation of well publicized, well known
     standing orders from both the 11th ACR and 146th ordnance
     Detachment (EOD).
    
       Ita. Four other soldiers were in the general area of the
    disposal pit when the explosion occurred:. one NCO and two
    soldiers building a berm (mound of earth) between the pit and the
    .-COmpbiand and one NCO following the M113 and the ammunition
    tAiler in a Hmmwv. None of them were harmed by the blast and
    all were in proper uniform.
    
        e.    The ordnance in the trailer consisted primarily of M577
     projectile fuzes, M42/M46 submunitions, and area denial artillery
     munitions (ADA-Ms) with smaller amounts of 40 mm grenades, M67
     fragmentation grenades, M49 trip flares, MS smoke grenades, A14
     thermite grenades, slap flares and other pyrotechnics. (MJ2 and
     M46 submunitions are so similar, with M42s occurring in much
     greater quantity, that the term M42 will be used in this report
     to cover both types.) See Exhibit 47 for a reconstructed loading
     plan for the trailer. Most of the munitions were placed one item
     at a time into cardboard boxes sitting on sandbags that lined the
     floor of the trailer. The inside of the boxes was not cushioned,
     in contravention with EOD manuals (see Exhibit 45). The APC
     towed the trailer for about a mile: through an exit gate with
     two speed bumps made from unserviceable tank track, down a
     hardtop road, then across bumpy, sandy terrain to the disposal*
     Pit- The trailer rocked and bounced considerably during the
     trip.
    
     f.. Operational coordination between the 146th Ordnance
     Detachment (EOD) and the 11th ACR was excellent, primarily
     because of the diligent efforts of the Regimental Engineer,~
    ~~ Every person interviewed, without exception.. knew their
     mission, the objectives for the day, and their role in the
     overall clearance effort. Changes in priorities caused some
     frustration at lower organizational levels, but even those
     changes were fully coordinated.
    
          9-  Responsibility for daily safety briefings during the
                                                      o Rrn a ffinc e"
    
     first week of clean-up was clear as the EOD team removed
     ordnande from unit areas. As the ef fort changed to clearing the
     locations with the heaviest concentrations of unexploded
    
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                    5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(6)