Free Republic

The deadly events of July 30, 2020, marked the end of a “chain of failure” that began seven months before, when an AAV platoon belonging to 3rd Amphibian Assault Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., received inoperable amphibious vehicles just a few months before they’d join the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit to train for an overseas deployment, according to the senior investigator.The battalion “did not properly train or equip this AAV Platoon for a very difficult MEU training cycle and deployment,” the investigator wrote. “They formed the platoon late, the platoon was not properly trained and evaluated to join the 15th...

Our previous stories were relatively easy to document with Department of Defense videos of U.F.O.s and pilot eyewitness accounts backed up by Navy hazard reports of close encounters with small speeding objects. But our latest article provided a more daunting set of challenges, since we dealt with the possible existence of retrieved materials from U.F.O.s. Going from data on a distant object in the sky to the possession of a retrieved one on the ground makes a leap that many find hard to accept and that clearly demands extraordinary evidence. Numerous associates of the Pentagon program, with high security clearances...

NORFOLK, Va. (Mar. 21, 2006) -- Balloons and streamers hang from the wall and ceiling. Anxious family members wait patiently inside as cold wind blows and rain pours, but doesn't dampen the spirit. Twelve Marines from Company A(-), 4th Amphibious Assault Battalion are returning from deployment and in about an hour, hugs and tears of joy will replace the anxiety. Mothers and wives discussing what to cook tonight for the Marines' first meal home provide a backdrop at the Little Creek Amphibious Base USO in Norfolk, Va., for this reunion. The 12 Marines were attached to the 3rd Provisional Security...

WASHINGTON - The Marines killed Wednesday in Iraq were patrolling desert terrain in a vehicle better suited for those famous Marine Corps beach landings, experts say. The amphibious assault vehicle - the Marine Corps' signature transport - is designed to carry troops in water operations from ship to shore, then operate on the beach and inland. "You could certainly question whether an amphibious vehicle is the most appropriate ... to be driving around in a desert," said John Pike, defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, a private think tank. With tracks instead of wheels, the vehicle is designed to be dropped from...