9 Marines die in AAV accident

All of us parents of those currently serving probably have nightmares over things like this.

We brace ourselves for overseas deployments and conflicts, but the potential for training accidents is almost just as terrifying.

Thoughts and prayers to the families of these Marines and the doc. :(
 
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As a non-military person, it's hard for me to realize just how dangerous training, in peacetime, can be.
Prayers for all the families.
 
As a non-military person, it's hard for me to realize just how dangerous training, in peacetime, can be.
Prayers for all the families.
This great country takes for granted and mostly do not realize what the small percentage of citizens that make up the military and their families go through to keep the sea lanes open, assure the continuance of world commerce, and guarantee freedom in a crazy world. In my 26 years I always had my sea bag packed and raised my hand for the next plane or ship leaving town. Unfortunately now as a Marine Dad, my son got that gene as well. We always read how when an officer is a senior captain or O-3/O-4, etc., that they do all admin work or whatever. My son is on his first B billet, shore duty, in eight years and he spends more time in the field than when he was in the Fleet. He and his Marines teach demolitions and make stuff go boom every week. Coincidentally the unit that had the Marines go down on that AAV had just left 29 Palms as part of their pre-deployment workups.

I can’t say anything else about that but it’s been an emotional few days. I’m sitting in the basement with my best friend Buster because he is afraid of thunder. I’m gonna give him a hug. I need it.
 
DSIL was scheduled to fly out of Mirimar that day but one of his crew had a brother on that operation. They scrubbed the flight and as of today SIL still does not have an update. Give Buster a treat for me. That man was a China Marine, WOW.
 
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I cringe at the statement "routine" training mission -- nothing is ROUTINE on a training mission. Why can't they just say 'training mission'?
 
At least they were found and can be returned to their families.
Rest in Peace.

 
To go with the photo above, the famous stanza from Laurence Binyon’s poem.


“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
 
DD did her youngster cruise on an LSD, based in San Diego. Did a couple runs up the coast, past San Clemente Island. Observed some exercises with AAVs going on and off the ship. Now she’s seriously contemplating whether to go USMC. So though I knew no one aboard the ill-fated AAV, this one feels closer to home than any other recent military tragedy. May they rest in peace and may their families have solace in knowing they served a noble cause.
 
The HM community is taking this one particularly hard. I can’t get rid of the vision of the horror of their last few minutes of life. Corpsmen at an early age and stage in our time “green side” as we call it, refer to Marines as “my Marines.” This battalion was doing pre-deployment workups so I imagine they had a full compliment of corpsmen with them. They were at ENDEX and probably happy to be getting back to the ship for some chow and a shower and of course a haircut.

Doc Gnem had spent the previous days doing everything his Marines did. Except he couldn’t rest every time they did. He had to treat blisters and irrigate eyes and look at itchy places. By the time he had a chance to sit down for a minute for a quick MRE it was time to go on to the next event. He didn’t complain though. That’s what he signed up for. I’m glad the families can bury their sons. If not for that, the horror would last forever.
 
Corpsmen at an early age and stage in our time “green side” as we call it, refer to Marines as “my Marines.”

I’m midway through “Hue 1968,” a book about the pivotal Vietnam War battle (written by Mark Bowden of “Black Hawk Down” fame). Marines were at the center of it all.

Early in the battle, a platoon had to run a vicious gauntlet — a narrow alley in the central city — with fire coming from all sides. When the first advance Marine went down, a corpsman rushed from the rear all the way to the front. Just short of the fallen Marine, he was cut down. A second corpsman then scrambled forward, and he too was cut down before reaching the wounded Marine. And just like that, barely after the firefight began, the platoon was without its medics. They ended up trapped in that alley overnight before retreating.

So I’d imagine that just as corpsman consider them “my Marines,” in turn the Marines consider them “my corpsman.” It must be an amazing — if unspoken — relationship
 
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