[Legbreaker]

It's not just junior officers who can screw things up!

While at Canungra, arguably the toughest training area in Australia (Tully is the other option), we were treated to a firepower demonstration by the training staff of the Jungle Warfare Centre - almost all of which where VERY senior NCOs and most having served in Vietnam.
All was going well, with machineguns, grenades, banks of claymores, and AT weapons tearing up the ground on the other side of the small, and extremely dry valley. Needless to say several fires very quickly broke out in the tinder dry grass and bushes and ended up burning out a fair sized chunk of the surrounding hills.

Another exercise a couple of years later resulted in the only time I've ever seen shit roll uphill!
We were several days into a week long exercise which was to culminate in a live fire company attack with Assault Pioneer and Mortar support. This particular day though was all about section attacks. This was done in two parts - a run through on the range with blanks followed a few minutes later by doing it all again with live rounds.
The light was rapidly fading as the last section went through with blanks. A rushed turn around and they were sent off with live ammo, one safety officer strolling along behind for every three men. Within about 15 seconds of the first shots being fired the panicked order to STOP! was given.

Due to the rush, and poor quality of accessories (namely the faulty zipper on the spare barrel bag for the M60), the assistant gunner had neglected to remove his blank firing attachment (BFA) from his rifle, being occupied with helping the gunner change barrels and then tying the bag up with string.

His first round lodged in the heavy BFA on his L1A1 SLR. The safety officer only noticed the bright orange chunk of metal still on the weapon as he was squeezing the trigger for a second, and likely catastrophic shot.

Turns out there were two contradictory manuals covering the use of blank ammo on a live firing range. On allowed it, and the other didn't. Everyone from the safety officers, range officers, permanent range staff, all the way up through battalion, brigade and Division copped a boot in the posterior. Ranks were lost, punishments handed out, resignations submitted.

And our hero, the poor assistant machinegunner? He was found completely innocent and was actually promoted a few months later.