diff --git a/orte/mca/ras/slurm/ras_slurm_module.c b/orte/mca/ras/slurm/ras_slurm_module.c
index 8739005ced..f9f57c1802 100644
--- a/orte/mca/ras/slurm/ras_slurm_module.c
+++ b/orte/mca/ras/slurm/ras_slurm_module.c
@@ -330,6 +330,8 @@ static int parse_range(char *base, char *range, char ***names)
     
     len = strlen(range);
     base_len = strlen(base);
+    /* Silence compiler warnings; start and end are always assigned
+       properly, below */
     start = end = 0;
     
     /* Look for the beginning of the first number */
diff --git a/orte/mca/sds/slurm/sds_slurm_module.c b/orte/mca/sds/slurm/sds_slurm_module.c
index d186d67561..852f31099d 100644
--- a/orte/mca/sds/slurm/sds_slurm_module.c
+++ b/orte/mca/sds/slurm/sds_slurm_module.c
@@ -268,6 +268,8 @@ static int parse_range(char *base, char *range, char ***names)
     
     len = strlen(range);
     base_len = strlen(base);
+    /* Silence compiler warnings; start and end are always assigned
+       properly, below */
     start = end = 0;
 
     /* Look for the beginning of the first number */