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
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
Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi
This post has been updated to include a statement from the U.S. Navy.
The Marine Corps recently suspended a two-star general as it continues an investigation into last year’s fatal Amphibious Assault Vehicle accident that left eight Marines and one sailor dead. Read More
Marines with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 21.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a safety of use memorandum (SOUM) on an assault amphibious vehicle in preparation for Exercise Reindeer II, Reindeer I, and Joint Viking in Setermoen, Norway, Nov. 19, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
Amphibious assault vehicle crews at Camp Pendleton, Calif., recently put their amtracs back in the water, the first operational unit to do so after the Marine Corps lifted a suspension that has been in place since last year’s deadly mishap off Southern California. Read More
Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicles into the well deck of the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) on July 27, 2020. US Marines Photo
The Marine Corps has begun a deeper investigation into the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, after an amphibious assault vehicle sank last year during an integrated Marine Corps-Navy exercise off Southern California killing nine, the service announced Tuesday. Read More
The following is the command investigation into the July 30, 2020 sinking of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle attached to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The investigation was released on March 26, 2021. Read More
Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicles into the well deck of the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) on July 27, 2020. US Marines Photo
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The July drowning deaths of eight Marines and a sailor who sank with their amphibious assault vehicle off a California island were the result of poor training, a vehicle in “horrible condition,” and lapsed safety procedures in a rush to deploy an operational AAV platoon, according to a command investigation of the incident reviewed this week by USNI News. Read More
Col. Christopher Bronzi. US Marine Corps Photo
More than eight months after an amphibious assault vehicle mishap that killed eight Marines and a sailor, the commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit was relieved from his job, Marine Corps Forces Pacific announced on Tuesday. Read More
Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicles while embarking the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) on July 27, 2020. US Navy Photo
The commander of a Marine battalion landing team that lost nine men when an AAV sunk off San Clemente Island, Calif., during a training exercise in July, I Marine Expeditionary Force announced late Tuesday. Read More
Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicles onto the well deck of the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) on July 27, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
Marines and sailors joined grieving families and friends at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Friday to remember the Navy corpsman and eight Marines who died when their amphibious assault vehicle sank off Southern California three weeks ago. Read More
