Prayers for the Dead and missing Marine's families.

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SAN DIEGO — At least one U.S. Marine is dead and eight others are missing after a training accident involving an amphibious vehicle from Camp Pendleton.

A Coast Guard cutter and helicopter from San Diego joined the search and rescue efforts, which started Thursday night and continued through Friday morning.

At least two others were injured in the accident, which occurred Thursday evening, and have been transported to Southern California hospitals, according to a news release from the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Expeditionary Force.

All of the service members in the incident are assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit based out of Camp Pendleton.

The accident occurred during a 15th MEU and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group routine training exercise in the vicinity of San Clemente Island, off the coast of San Diego, according to the Marines.

Marines in an amphibious assault vehicle, or AAV, reported they were taking on water shortly before 6 p.m. Sixteen people were inside the vehicle at the time of the accident. Eight people have been recovered.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, the commanding officer of the 15th MEU. “I ask that you keep our Marines, Sailors, and their families in your prayers as we continue our search.”

The Marine killed in the accident was pronounced dead after being rushed to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, officials said. Their name will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.

Investigators did not immediately say what led up to the accident.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: navyshooter,

RIP - horrible, heavy combat equipped Marines in a sinking AAV. That's a whole lotta suck right there.

Yes, The water temp is in the mid 60's. which doesn't sound too bad until you treading water in it for a period of time.

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Originally posted by navyshooter:
Prayers for the Dead and missing Marine's families.

Link. . .

The Marine killed in the accident was pronounced dead after being rushed to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, officials said. Their name will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified. . .

I heard first hand a lady tell her story of being a young girl, looking out the living room window, seeing two well dressed Navy officers getting out of a car and walking up the sidewalk to the front door. You can guess the message they had. I will always remember that experience.

For those who have trained/ridden in Marine AAVs - how would you evacuate/escape in a hurry? Single file one hatch?

Prayers for the families and Marines - tough draw.

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Originally posted by FlyingScot:
For those who have trained/ridden in Marine AAVs - how would you evacuate/escape in a hurry? Single file one hatch?

Prayers for the families and Marines - tough draw.

There's two large overhead-hatches that open up the main compartment however, they'd be dogged-down when in the water and would be impossible to open as water rushes-in while also pushes against the hatches.

Rough month for the Corps, an ARG/MEU rotation is screwed up with the Bonhomme Richard fire, tank battalions were officially retired and now this.

Prayers inbound for the Marines and their families. May the fallen RIP. Semper Fi

I spent 21 years in AAV’s and had a few emergencies in the water. When 30 tons starts sinking things can go south real fast. My heart goes out to those Marines and their families.

RIP Patriots

quote:

Originally posted by navyshooter:
Yes, The water temp is in the mid 60's. which doesn't sound too bad until you treading water in it for a period of time.

Agree, mid 60's degree water is not warm and will suck energy from you without the proper exposer protection.

Thought and prayer to the soldiers and their families.

A sad reminder that it’s not only combat that makes service in the armed forces dangerous.

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Originally posted by corsair:

quote:

Originally posted by FlyingScot:
For those who have trained/ridden in Marine AAVs - how would you evacuate/escape in a hurry? Single file one hatch?

Prayers for the families and Marines - tough draw.

There's two large overhead-hatches that open up the main compartment however, they'd be dogged-down when in the water and would be impossible to open as water rushes-in while also pushes against the hatches.

Rough month for the Corps, an ARG/MEU rotation is screwed up with the Bonhomme Richard fire, tank battalions were officially retired and now this.

I was the driver of M-59s for a couple years. Those were amphib troop carriers. Weighed 21 tons, empty. Had 2 hatches that opened upwards on top so passengers could watch for enemy aircraft.

They were amphibious, at least that is what the book said. Reality was that the built-in bilge pump could not keep up with the leakage! We had several sink with full crews. Given the weight of water on those hatches, it was virtually impossible to open them. The only other solution was the hatch on the ramp, which also opened outwards. Don't know who approved that junk, but whoever it was should have been hung because of the fatalities when the damned things sank and people could not get out soon enough.

I was very happy to be promoted and transferred to another job that had nothing to do with them.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/mis...ends-corps-says]They've called off the search
RIP Marines and Sailor

They found them

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The Marine amphibious assault vehicle that sank off the Southern California coast while carrying eight Marines and a Navy corpsman during a training exercise last week was found with human remains after an intensive search effort, the military said Tuesday.

The landing craft sank 385 feet after taking on water during a ship-to-shore maneuver off the coast of San Clemente Island on Thursday. The Marines and the sailor were heading back to their ship when the vessel sunk.

The Marines and the corpsman had been presumed dead after they had been missing for more than 40 hours. The Navy Undersea Rescue Command confirmed the remains through the use of an underwater remote-controlled video system.

The Navy is working to recover the bodies of the service members and the assault vehicle. The Navy is deploying the necessary equipment to recover the bodies and the assault vehicle from the seafloor.

The servicemen were identified as:

Lance Cpl. Guillermo S. Perez, 20, of New Braunfels, Texas.
Pfc. Bryan J. Baltierra, 19, of Corona, California.
Lance Cpl. Marco A. Barranco, 21, of Montebello, California.
Pfc. Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
U.S. Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California.
Pfc. Jack Ryan Ostrovsky, 21, of Bend, Oregon.
Cpl. Wesley A. Rodd, 23, of Harris, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 19, of Portland, Oregon.
Cpl. Cesar A. Villanueva, 21, of Riverside, California.

The men on board were based out of Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego. They were all wearing combat gear, including body armor, and flotation vests when the craft sank.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: navyshooter,

This is a very sad news.

Rest in Peace Marines. I know you will be guarding us from heaven.

That's tough to consider. Rest In Peace.

I can’t think of too many worse ways to go.. they really need to make a change to those vehicles so they can gtfo and quickly when needed.

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Originally posted by limblessbiff:
I can’t think of too many worse ways to go.. they really need to make a change to those vehicles so they can gtfo and quickly when needed.

I was just thinking the same thing. Is there currently no efficient way to egress in an emergency?

Thanks,

JP

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The AAV entered service with the United States Marine Corps in the early 1970s. It was intended to provide Marines with a shorter ship to shore time and to give Marines a degree of protection while on land. It was therefore equipped with a .50 caliber heavy machine gun and a 40-millimeter automatic grenade launcher.

AAVs launch from the well decks of Navy amphibious ships, literally driving off the ship’s edge and into the sea toward land. They are normally operated by a three-man crew and can carry twenty-one full-armed Marines. Though decently well-armed, the Assault Amphibious Vehicles aren’t very fast—and in some cases may have even been slower than the Higgins boat! As a result, several attempts have been made to replace them.

The Amphibious Combat Vehicle, or ACV, is a USMC initiative that supersedes the now-cancelled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program in developing an AAV replacement. This multi-phase effort uses several various wheeled prototypes to explore different platforms and their capabilities, with the goal of eventually giving the USMC a faster, more survivable platform for ship-to-shore operations. It is a long-overdue project, as the AAV is gaining notoriety for the dangerous incidents it has been involved in.

Most recently, an AAV sunk during a training exercise off the coast of California near Camp Pendleton, causing the deaths of seven Marines and one Sailor. Though the investigation into what exactly caused the AAV to sink is ongoing, the aged vehicles have been previously criticized for being leaky. In 2017, fifteen Marines and one Navy corpsman were injured when their AAV caught fire during another training exercise, also at Camp Pendleton.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Lieutenant General Joseph Osterman explained that the Corps has squeezed out all the useful life they can out of this platform, saying that the “AAVs were originally procured in 1972 but they’ve gone through many service life extension programs. They bring it in, they literally bring it down to just the hull and rebuild everything inside of it. We’ve done that multiple times through the years.”