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2021-10-08 -Lurid Crime Tales-
Commanders who oversaw troop training where nine service members drowned in amphibious vehicle disaster were 'burnt out from the pandemic, the prospect of war with Iran, and Trump's militarization of the southern border', investigation finds
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Eight Marines and one sailor died in a July 2020 accident off California's coast

  • Their amphibious vehicle sank in a training exercise and the rescue was botched

  • Earlier this year a report found a multitude of errors in maintenance, training and rescue procedures contributed to the tragedy

  • On Wednesday two new reports - one by the Marines, one from the Navy - were published

  • The authors found that the commanders, while still to blame for the incident, were under intense and varied pressure from COVID and politics

  • The mother of one of the victims told The Washington Post she was unimpressed by the finger pointing

Marine Corps investigators found in March that the deaths were 'preventable,' and said that complacency, poor maintenance and inspections, and inadequate training all contributed to the tragedy.

But on Wednesday, the results of two new investigations led by the Marines and the Navy found that the commanders in charge of training were stressed out and struggling to deal with many competing demands put on them because of the pandemic.

Major General Robert Castellvi, who at the time was the commanding general of 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, was fired in June - the highest-ranking officer to face disciplinary action in wake of the disaster.

His firing came after that of Lt. Col. Michael J. Regner, commanding officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, in October 2020, and Col. Christopher Bronzi, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's commanding officer, who was relieved of his command in March 2021.

In all, 12 Marines have been or will be punished for their roles in the accident, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Ryan Bruce confirmed to Military.com.

Lt. Gen. Carl Mundy III, who led the Marines' investigation, said it would be 'a mistake to discount or overlook' the demands on the forces, which he said contributed to the many errors.

'The claims on their time and attention surfaced in a number of interviews with several senior officers who described the conditions during this period as second only to their experience in combat,' Mundy wrote.

He said that 'associated reverberations' from a coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier had 'compressed and complicated available training opportunities' for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The Marines were also tasked with providing security for the USNS Mercy, a hospital ship that was deployed off the California coast to help with COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic.

Mundy also noted that the Marines had a number of other 'non-standard' missions at the time, including being sent to the U.S.-Mexico border for Trump's immigration patrols.

Finally, he said they were 'planning for major combat operations due to heightened tensions with Iran in January 2020.'
Posted by Skidmark 2021-10-08 07:34|| || Front Page|| [11133 views ]  Top

#1 Boy, they just had to work Trump in there, didn't they?
Posted by ed in texas 2021-10-08 10:44||   2021-10-08 10:44|| Front Page Top

#2 plus "...Global warming, Ozone Holes, UFO spotting, and no liquor onboard."
Posted by magpie 2021-10-08 11:01||   2021-10-08 11:01|| Front Page Top

#3 AWSShucks*

* victims of Acute White Supremaciss Syndrome
Posted by Snerong White8326 2021-10-08 11:17||   2021-10-08 11:17|| Front Page Top

#4 The mother of one of the victims told The Washington Post she was unimpressed by the finger pointing

That's what *I* thought.
Posted by Bobby 2021-10-08 11:40||   2021-10-08 11:40|| Front Page Top

#5 "Inadequate training" and "demands on forces" - too much training time diverted to BS topics, and away from priorities like actual mission readiness.
Posted by Glenmore 2021-10-08 12:59||   2021-10-08 12:59|| Front Page Top

#6 Oh. They were so upset by a laundry list of things which either hadn't happened or were inconsequential that they were rendered unable to perform the most basic, essential tasks. Must be Hell wringing your hands over what might be. Perhaps John Basilone had something to say on that topic.
Posted by Cesare 2021-10-08 13:43||   2021-10-08 13:43|| Front Page Top

#7 You know who was "under intense and varied pressure... from politics"?

Eisenhower.

Yet he was ready to take sole responsibility if D-Day failed.
Posted by Rob Crawford 2021-10-08 14:07||   2021-10-08 14:07|| Front Page Top

#8 " “Stress Control Cards” which were the equivalent of a wallet-based mood ring. the recruit or soldier could put their finger on a special square, which would turn colors to indicate a range of stress levels, from “relaxed” to “most stressed.” " In today's services perhaps the Clinton thing still exists. I can hear it now; Come on man, chill. The response would be epic.
Posted by Dale 2021-10-08 15:04||   2021-10-08 15:04|| Front Page Top

#9 Isn't the border supposed to be somewhat militarised? Its the freakling border!
Posted by CrazyFool 2021-10-08 18:35||   2021-10-08 18:35|| Front Page Top

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