Camp Atterbury is investigating after an eight-inch flare struck and damaged the satellite dish of a nearby home.
Gayland Roach, who has lived near the military base west of Edinburgh for more than four decades, said he was watching TV during the evening June 10 when his reception turned off and he heard a sound like dynamite.
“It felt like the house shook,” he said.
Roach went outside to see what had happened and found his satellite dish had a massive dent in it and an eight-inch silver projectile was on the ground. He called 911. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office came, took photographs and passed along the information to military personnel.
Now, military officials are investigating, said Capt. Jessica Cates, public affairs officer for Camp Atterbury.
The projectile appears to be a flare that would be used as a signal by putting off light when fired into the air, she said.
The investigator is looking into who was in the field that day, where the flare was fired from and how it reached Roach’s home, she said.
Roach’s home in the 1000 block of West Drive is just north of land owned by Camp Atterbury.
The goal is to find out what happened and to take necessary steps to prevent it from happening again, Cates said. She also met with Roach, and the military will reimburse him for any repairs, she said.
Roach said he is worried that something like this could happen again and someone might get hurt. He wants Camp Atterbury to have a plan in place to prevent any future similar incidents, he said.
“I’ve never had a problem with them before,” Roach said. “They’ve always been a good neighbor.”
