OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:20 PM – Thursday, December 14, 2023
The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) said on Wednesday that an amphibious combat vehicle (ACV) collision at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Tuesday night claimed the life of one U.S. Marine.
According to the USMC, the tactical vehicle carrying 15 service personnel overturned during “a ground movement during training” at around 6 p.m.
The USMC also reported that the remaining 14 victims had unclear injuries and were sent to a number of facilities, including the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton.
In order to notify the deceased Marine’s family, the identity of the individual was withheld from the press. His name was later revealed to be Sgt. Matthew K. Bylski, of Royal Oak, Michigan.
He was a member of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to the USMC. However, the identities of the other wounded Marines are also being kept private under Department of Defense (DOD) policy.
Since the ACVs were introduced in 2020, there have been a number of training mishaps and issues.
A suspension of its amphibious operations was imposed in 2021 as a result of issues with the vehicle’s towing system. Subsequently, in July 2022, two vehicle disasters prompted Lt. General David Furness to put a stop to all “waterborne ACV operations” while an inquiry was conducted. After another incident, the halt was restored after being lifted for a total of 22 days.
Furness’s decision to halt aquatic training meant that ACVs could carry on with their on-land training.
The Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV), which had served for decades, was replaced with the ACVs. The action was taken months after an amphibious assault vehicle had crash during training, which claimed the lives of 9 military men.
The USMC said that the incident was being investigated further, but they did not provide any other details.
The sergeants name has been updated.
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