Which statement is true about DANGER CLOSE distances?

• A. DANGER CLOSE for Artillery is 600 meters
• B. DANGER CLOSE for Artillery is 1200 meters
• C. DANGER CLOSE for Naval 5 in is 600 meters
• D. DANGER CLOSE for 16 in is 750 meters

Answer: (A)

Danger Close describes the distance within which friendly forces could be endangered by our fire and thus requires extra caution and explicit approval when firing near them. For artillery, the standard DANGER CLOSE distance is 600 meters. This means that if friendly troops are within 600 meters of the target area, fire support must be carefully coordinated, verified targets, and often require special authorization to proceed, because the risk to those troops from the artillery effects is high. The idea is to balance getting the mission done with protecting our own forces; within this 600-meter radius, the potential for casualties is considered unacceptable unless stringent controls are in place. The other statements assign different distances to different weapon systems, which are not the values recognized as the artillery DANGER CLOSE in this context.