San Clemente Island

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Survivors of Navy Contracted Learjet

Phoenix Air Learjet 35 approaching Naval Air Station North Island in 2009. Photo via Wikipedia

The Coast Guard suspended its search for three people who crashed in a Phoenix Learjet near San Clemente Island, Calif., the service announced Thursday.

The Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and Customs and Border Protection helped look for the crew and debris from the Navy-contracted plane that took off from Point Mugu Naval Air Station, according to a Coast Guard release. The service narrowed it down to...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/11/coast-guard-suspends-search-for-survivors-of-navy-contracted-learjet

SECNAV Censures Retired Marine General, Navy Officers Over 2020 Fatal AAV Sinking

Secretary of the Navy censured five officers related to the 2020 AAV sinking off California. Clockwise from top left: Capt. J.W. David Kurtz, retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman, Lt. Col. Keith Brenize , Capt. Stewart Bateshansky, Col. Christopher Bronzi. USNI News Photo Graphic

The Navy’s top civilian leader issued formal administrative punishments to five senior officers for their part in the fatal 2020 sinking of a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle that killed eight Marines and a Navy...

Hearing Begins for Battalion Commander’s Role in Fatal 2020 AAV Sinking

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operate an AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle while embarking the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) during training to increase Navy-Marine Corps interoperability in the eastern Pacific.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A board of officers convened this week to determine whether the officer who led the infantry battalion involved in the fatal 2020 sinking of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle should be...

https://news.usni.org/2022/01/04/hearing-begins-for-battalion-commanders-role-in-fatal-2020-aav-sinking

BREAKING: Marines Keeping AAVs Out of the Water Permanently

Marines with Marine Rotational Force Europe 21.1 (MRF-E), Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a live-fire range using Assault Amphibious Vehicles (AAV) in Blatindan, Norway, March 16, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo

The Marine Corps will keep its fleet of decades-old Amphibious Assault Vehicles out of the water except in only emergencies, the service announced on Wednesday.

The water ban on the AAVs makes permanent restrictions the Marines placed on the 1970s vintage amphibious armored personnel...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/15/breaking-marines-keeping-aavs-out-of-the-water-permanently

Navy Probe Finds No Direct Link Between Actions of USS Somerset Crew and Fatal AAV Accident

Marine Corps AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicle driver with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, drives an AAV-P7/A1 up the well deck ramp of the amphibious landing dock USS Somerset (LPD-25) during training to increase Navy-Marine Corps interoperability in the eastern Pacific on July 27, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo

A Navy-ordered investigation into the service’s role in the 2020 fatal sinking of a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle that killed nine...

Marine Corps IG Removed, ‘Counseled’ for Failures as 1st MARDIV CO Following Fatal AAV Sinking Investigation

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.

Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi was in command of the 22,000-member 1st Marine Division when the 26-ton AAV sank July 30,...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/09/marine-corps-ig-removed-counseled-for-failures-as-1st-mardiv-co-following-fatal-aav-sinking-investigation

Marine Corps Suspends General Over Deadly AAV Accident, Lawmaker Wants Answers on Navy’s Role in Incident

Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi

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.

During a hearing in front of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee today, Marine Corps assistant commandant Lt. Gen. Gary Thomas told lawmakers that Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi, who recently became the service’s inspector general, had been suspended. Castellvi led the 1st...

https://news.usni.org/2021/05/03/marine-corps-suspends-general-over-deadly-aav-accident-lawmaker-wants-answers-on-navys-role-in-incident

Marines: Limited AAV Operations on Water Resume As Vehicle Inspections, Unit Certifications Required in Fatal Sinking Aftermath

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...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/21/marines-limited-aav-operations-on-water-resume-as-vehicle-inspections-unit-certifications-required-in-fatal-sinking-aftermath

Marines Launch Investigation into 15th MEU After Fatal AAV Incident

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.

Ge...

https://news.usni.org/2021/04/06/marines-launch-investigation-into-15th-meu-after-fatal-aav-incident

+ More