Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Amphibious Assault Vehicle casualties. Do we have proper controls at ITX?

A photo of Cpl Sell with his family during happier times.  via High Desert Star.  Note:  I get so wrapped up with the weapon systems that the individual is sometimes lost. My heart goes out to the family....a warning goes out to the Marines.  Get your house in order.  This young man went to war and then died during a training exercise?  Yeah.  Even training is hazardous but we've got to do better.

via Marine Corps Times.
A Marine was killed and four others injured when an Amphibious Assault Vehicle caught fire Monday morning at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Cpl. Nicholas Sell of 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., was participating in a battalion assault course as part of the Integrated Training Exercise when his AAV caught fire around 11:20 a.m., Combat Center spokesman Capt. Justin Smith said in a release. Sell, 21, was a native of Eagle Point, Ore., who had been in the Marine Corps since 2010. He had deployed once to Afghanistan.
The Marines who were injured in the AAV fire have not been identified by Marine officials.
One of the injured is in stable condition and is being treated at Arrowhead Medical Center in Los Angeles. The other three were treated and released from Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital at the Combat Center.
According to Combat Center officials, two units are currently participating in the ITX: 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, out of Hawaii; and 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Sell’s unit had been supporting 2/1.
Thousands of Marines go to the Combat Center annually for ITX, which is a nearly month-long workup to build skills before a deployment, from the personal and squad level up to a battalion-wide final exercise.
ITX replaced Enhanced Mojave Viper as the Marine Corps’ premiere pre-deployment training program in January.
Monday’s incident marks the second training death this year for the Combat Center and the second death during ITX.
Military Training is inherently dangerous.

Even training can get you killed.

I won't even speculate on this one till more info is available.  What is concerning is that this incident happened on a battalion assault course.

Are the proper controls in place or has a gunslinger mentality crept into the ranks because of so much trigger time down range?

I don't know but this is a tragedy.  Comfort to the family of the deceased and get wells to the injured.

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