[DuncanWaring]

...Imagine the deafening report of a mortar as it strikes the ground a 150 feet in front of you, the overpressure enough to shatter your teeth and perforate an ear drum. ...

Believable to you?

You once mentioned an incident with an "artillery simulator" going off a couple of feet behind you with, as I recall, no long-term damage.

They've gone off 150 (or so) from me and didn't come anywhere near "shattering teeth" or "perforating eardrums".

[hiredhand]

Yes... I DID have a rather unfortunate incident with an artillery simulator! I didn't have any long term damage. In fact, I think I suffered more hearing loss over time from working in a comm facility (LOTS of moving air from equipment fans!) than from that simulator explosion.

Mortars at 150 feet aren't going to be pleasant, but they're not going to shatter your teeth or perforate ear drums. 105mm Howitzer rounds will though. :-)

I read most of the original article and believe the writer is full of crap. :-)...and most certainly not a Marine.