Tag Archives: AAV

First Crews Graduate from New, Tougher ACV Training; Marines Still Working on Surf Operations

First Crews Graduate from New, Tougher ACV Training; Marines Still Working on Surf Operations

A U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle operated by Marines with the ACV Transition Training Unit drives up the beach at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, June 21, 2023.US Marine Corps Photo

This week’s graduation of 29 Marines re-certified to operate the Marine Corps’ Assault Combat Vehicle marks the latest step in building a force of trained ACV operators and maintainers that will help transition the rest of the community to a new, tougher standard, officials said Friday. Read More

SECNAV Censures Retired Marine General, Navy Officers Over 2020 Fatal AAV Sinking

SECNAV Censures Retired Marine General, Navy Officers Over 2020 Fatal AAV Sinking

Secretary of the Navy censured five officers related to the 2020 AAV sinking off California. Clockwise from top left: Capt. J.W. David Kurtz, retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, Lt. Col. Keith Brenize , Capt. Stewart Bateshansky, Col. Christopher Bronzi. USNI News Photo Graphic

The Navy’s top civilian leader issued formal administrative punishments to five senior officers for their part in the fatal 2020 sinking of a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle that killed eight Marines and a Navy corpsman, officials confirmed Monday. Read More

Marine ACVs Team with Japanese AAVs at Sea in Iron Fist Exercise

Marine ACVs Team with Japanese AAVs at Sea in Iron Fist Exercise

A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) soldier with 2nd Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment checks communication gear on an assault amphibious vehicle during exercise Iron Fist 2022 at White Beach, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 13, 2022. US Marine Corps Photo

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Smooth seas and an ebbing tide greeted Japanese and Marine Corps amphibious vehicle crews that zipped in and out of the Pacific last week, marking the first week of the annual exercise Iron Fist and a resumption of Marines’ waterborne operations. Read More

Hearing Begins for Battalion Commander's Role in Fatal 2020 AAV Sinking

Hearing Begins for Battalion Commander’s Role in Fatal 2020 AAV Sinking

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate an AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle while embarking the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) during training to increase Navy-Marine Corps interoperability in the eastern Pacific.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A board of officers convened this week to determine whether the officer who led the infantry battalion involved in the fatal 2020 sinking of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle should be discharged from the Marine Corps or allowed to continue to serve. Read More

BREAKING: Marines Keeping AAVs Out of the Water Permanently

BREAKING: Marines Keeping AAVs Out of the Water Permanently

Marines with Marine Rotational Force Europe 21.1 (MRF-E), Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a live-fire range using Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) in Blatindan, Norway, March 16, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo

The Marine Corps will keep its fleet of decades-old Amphibious Assault Vehicles out of the water except in emergencies, the service announced on Wednesday. Read More

Navy Approaching 'Weak' Rating in New U.S. Military Strength Survey

Navy Approaching ‘Weak’ Rating in New U.S. Military Strength Survey

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) transits the South China Sea with Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS-16) on Sept. 7, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Navy’s ability to defend the nation’s vital security interests is “marginal,” – with the caveat that its score is trending to “weak” in capability and readiness – while the Marine Corps’ ability is graded as “strong,” according to a think tank’s latest survey of United States military power. Read More

Navy Probe Finds No Direct Link Between Actions of USS Somerset Crew and Fatal AAV Accident

Navy Probe Finds No Direct Link Between Actions of USS Somerset Crew and Fatal AAV Accident

Marine Corps AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle driver with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, drives an AAV-P7/A1 up the well deck ramp of the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) during training to increase Navy-Marine Corps interoperability in the eastern Pacific on July 27, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

This post has been updated with additional information on the administrative action taken by the Navy and Marine Corps.

A Navy-ordered investigation into the service’s role in the 2020 fatal sinking of a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle that killed nine found faulty assumptions, confused command roles and communications, conflicting policies, gaps in amphibious warfare training and certification, deficient doctrine, and poorly maintained vehicles. Read More

Marine Corps IG Removed, 'Counseled' for Failures as 1st MARDIV CO Following Fatal AAV Sinking Investigation

Marine Corps IG Removed, ‘Counseled’ for Failures as 1st MARDIV CO Following Fatal AAV Sinking Investigation

Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi

The Marine Corps inspector general – who last month was suspended from the role as the service’s watchdog – won’t be returning to the job after Gen. David Berger last week formally “counseled” him for his “failure” to properly train and evaluate a platoon whose amphibious assault vehicle sank during a training exercise off southern California last summer. Read More

CMC Berger: New Investigations Into Fatal AAV Mishap Seek To 'Prevent a Similar Tragedy'

CMC Berger: New Investigations Into Fatal AAV Mishap Seek To ‘Prevent a Similar Tragedy’

Gen. David Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps, observes a simulated casualty response demonstration by U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsmen with the 15th Marine Expeditionary unit during a tour aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) on April 17, 2021. US Navy Photo

A command investigation into the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit – the Camp Pendleton, Calif.,-based force that lost nine members when their amphibious assault vehicle sank training at sea last July – has been completed and is pending review by the acting Navy secretary, the Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday. Read More