31 My Colonel Ripped The Safety Flag Out Of My Hand And Called Me A Disgrace — He Didn't Know The Range Camera Had Just Caught Two Trucks Inside The Impact Zone

The range was cleared at 11:47.

The two civilian trucks were located at grid 7-4-2 by two military police Humvees and a range control vehicle. They were a pair of white pickup trucks with Texas plates. The drivers were two men in their forties. They said they had been told by a sergeant at the north gate that they could drive through the range to reach a hunting lease on the other side.

The sergeant at the north gate was not at the north gate when the military police arrived.

The north gate was unlocked.

The sergeant was found in the range control office at 12:15. His name was Staff Sergeant Marcus Webb. He was thirty-one years old. He had been at the range control office for eight months. He was in the process of deleting the access log from the range control computer when the military police walked in.

He was taken into custody.

He was not read his rights. He was not arrested. He was placed in a room in the range control building and told to sit down and to stay seated. A military police officer stood outside the door. A second military police officer stood beside him.

At 13:00, Lieutenant Colonel Okafor walked into the room.

She sat down across from Staff Sergeant Webb. She set a recorder on the table. She said, "Staff Sergeant Webb, you are not under arrest. You are not being charged with anything. You are being interviewed as a witness. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer. Do you understand?"

Webb said, "I understand."

"Do you want a lawyer?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then I want you to tell me who told you to open the north gate."

Webb said, "I do not know what you are talking about."

Okafor said, "Staff Sergeant Webb, I have the range control logs. I have the gate logs. I have the credential swipe record. I have the cell phone records of every soldier who was on duty at this range this morning. And I have a recording of a phone call that was placed from this office at 10:14 this morning to a number that belongs to a major on Colonel Ross's staff. Do you want to hear the recording?"

Webb did not answer.

"Then I want you to listen carefully. You opened the north gate at 10:31. You let two civilian vehicles through the gate. You did not log it. You did not call the range safety NCO. You did not call the range control officer. You did it because someone told you to do it. That someone was a major on Colonel Ross's staff. That major is going to be in this room within the hour. And when he is in this room, he is going to be asked the same question I am asking you. And I do not need to tell you which one of you the Army is going to believe."

Webb's face was very pale.

"Ma'am," he said. "I was told the vehicles were a maintenance crew. I was told they were there to check the target pits. I was told it was approved by the range control officer."

"Who told you?"

"Major Hargrove."

Okafor did not move.

"Major Thomas Hargrove. The executive officer of the 3rd Battalion. The battalion that owns this range. The battalion that Colonel Ross commands."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And did Major Hargrove also tell you that the exercise would be halted if the vehicles were seen?"

"No, ma'am."

"Did Major Hargrove tell you that the range control officer had approved the pass?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Did you believe him?"

There was a long pause.

"Ma'am," Webb said, "Major Hargrove is the executive officer of the battalion. He is the second most senior officer in the unit. When the executive officer tells a staff sergeant to open a gate, the staff sergeant opens the gate."

Okafor looked at him for a long moment.

"Staff Sergeant Webb," she said, "you are going to be charged with dereliction of duty and with failing to follow range safety procedures. You are going to be relieved of your duties at this range. You are going to be reassigned to a position that does not involve access to a live-fire range. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And Staff Sergeant Webb."

"Ma'am."

"You did not put those people in danger. Major Hargrove put those people in danger. You followed an order from a superior officer that you had no reason to question. The Army is going to take that into account. The Army is going to take it into account because I am going to recommend that it be taken into account. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then you are free to go. You will report to the provost marshal's office at 08:00 tomorrow morning. You will not speak to anyone about this matter. You will not speak to any member of the press. You will not speak to Major Hargrove."

"Yes, ma'am."

Webb stood up.

He walked out of the room.