UXO Safety

UXO stands for Unexploded Ordnance. UXO's result from our military's use of munitions during live-fire training or testing. UXO are considered the most dangerous category of military munitions. Although the conditions that define military munitions as UXO are specific, the public should consider any munitions, or suspect munitions it encounters as UXO and as extremely dangerous.

Although Installations control access to areas known or suspected to contain UXO on active installations, frequently these areas once used by the military may have been transferred to public use.

Educate Your Child About UXO

As parents, we all want the safest environment for children to grow up in. Children are always looking for new toys to play with and new environments to play in. Children who find unexploded ordnance (UXO) may play with it unknowingly risking their lives. In one incident in 2001 a child was raking leaves in his yard when he found what officials later identified as a bazooka round. Luckily, the child was not injured or killed in that incident. In another incident, a teenager was seriously injured when he wandered onto an artillery impact range and stepped on a UXO that exploded. The teenager suffered permanent brain damage and lost use of one eye. Unexploded Ordnance is a type of attractive nuance that has the potential of enticing children into playing with it. It is important to protect our children from coming into contact with UXO. Parents cannot always be with their children, so one way to protect them from UXO is to educate children of its characteristics.

UXO May come in many different shapes and sizes. UXO can resemble but are not limited to metal toys, soda cans, and baseballs. They may be visible on the ground surface, or be buried under ground. Parents should take the time to educate themselves and their children on the importance of identifying UXO, and how to report it.