Lightning Strike Sends 16 Fort Bragg Soldiers to Hospital

Lightning strike hospitalizes 16 soldiers at Fort Bragg
WITN News
Updated: Thu 3:46 PM, Aug 20, 2015

A lightning strike has hospitalized 16 soldiers on an Army training exercise in North Carolina.

Master Sgt. Patrick Malone, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, says 60 soldiers were gathered to discuss the day's training when lightning struck nearby around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Malone said 15 soldiers were hospitalized overnight for observation at an Army hospital, and another was taken to a different hospital for heart monitoring. Two others were examined and returned to duty without staying overnight.
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CAMP LEJEUNE: Marine grabs police officer's gun; fires it in hospital waiting room
WITN News
Aug 19, 2015

Camp Lejeune says a Marine in police custody managed to grab an officer's gun, firing it once in the waiting room at the Naval Hospital.

It happened approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but the Marine Corps didn't release information about the shooting until late Wednesday afternoon.
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7 percent of lightning victims are military

7 percent of lightning victims are military

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jul 22, 2010 10:27:53 EDT

Lightning strikes an average of 400 people a year, the National Weather Service says — and recent data shows that about 7 percent of them are service members.

While only about 20 percent of people hit by lightning die, those who live may have to deal with severe injuries, including deep burns where the lightning makes contact, for the rest of their lives. A lightning strike can lead to loss of limb, vision or hearing loss, weakness or numbness in the limbs, temporary paralysis, memory problems, headaches and, believe it or not, a fear of storms.

Since January 2009, some 42 service members have been hit by lightning, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. Of those, 29 were soldiers and nine were airmen. In February, three airmen were hit by a single lightning strike in Florida.
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7 percent of lightning victims are military