After months of preparation and planning, 2nd Marine Division conducted the first iteration of night live-fire training on range G-36 on May 23. Range G-36 opened in December 2020 as Camp Lejeune’s first company-level battle course. Since its debut, units,
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. Berger said he has reviewed the investigation, […]
On July 30, 2020, During an at-sea pre-deployment training exercise of the 15th Marines Expeditionary Unit, eight infantry Marines and one Navy corpsman drowned as the 26-ton amphibious assault vehicle transporting them to amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset sank.
In the ensuing Marine Corps investigation, Col. Christopher J. Bronzi, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was relieved of duty in March 2021 due to a loss of faith and confidence in his ability to command, a Marine Corps statement said.
The investigation also faulted Castellvi, commander of the 1st Marine Division, and noted that the platoon aboard the AAV had not completed its mandatory Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation, or MCCRE, prior to the accident.
By SARAH CAMMARATA | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 3, 2021 WASHINGTON A Marine Corps major general has been suspended from his duties after an investigation into the deadly sinking last year of an amphibious assault vehicle determined he was in part responsible for the accident, a service official said Monday at a House hearing.
Gen. Gary Thomas, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told members of a subpanel of the House Armed Services Committee that Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi, who oversaw the ground combat unit that was involved in the training when the accident happened, had been placed on administrative leave last week from his duties as the service inspector general.