If Junior Officers Had Botched Afghanistan, They’d All Be Fired Right Now
A private will suffer greater consequences for losing a rifle than a general will for losing a war.
By William A. Woodruff
September 13, 2021
On July 30, 2020, off the coast of California, units of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit were conducting amphibious assault exercises when tragedy struck. After successfully completing a training assault on San Clemente Island, members of Bravo Company left the island in their amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) and were “swimming” back to the Somerset, an amphibious transport ship.
One of the AAVs, with a crew of three and carrying 12 Marines and a Navy corpsman, never made it to the Somerset. The AAV began taking on water, lost its emergency lighting system, experienced mechanical failures due to a leak of transmission fluid, and two of the bilge pumps stopped working.
The AAV commander delayed ordering an evacuation. To make matters worse, radio communications did not operate properly. The 26-ton AAV sank to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, taking eight Marines and the Navy corpsman with it in the deadliest amphibious training accident in the Corps’ history.
The official investigation of the mishap concluded “a confluence of human and mechanical failures caused the sinking of the mishap AAV and contributed to a delayed rescue effort, resulting in the deaths of eight Marines and one Sailor.”
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https://thefederalist.com/2021/09/13/if-junior-officers-had-botched-afghanistan-theyd-all-be-fired-right-now/
