'A dereliction of duty’ — Why the amphibious vehicle disaster that killed 9 servicemen was...

The findings of the Marine Corps investigation of the July 30, 2020 sinking of an Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) that resulted in the deaths of eight Marines and a Navy corpsman are gut-wrenching. On the first page of the 63-page report, it states that “a confluence of human and mechanical failures caused the sinking of the mishap AAV, and contributed to a delayed rescue effort, resulting in the deaths of eight Marines and one Sailor.” While that assessment is supported by overwhelming evidence contained in the 1,700 additional pages of witness statements and evidentiary material, the Marine Corps failed to look beyond the actions of the personnel of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to identify the primary reason for the loss of life: lack of training.