OCEANSIDE, CA - On Tuesday, December 12th, a United States Marine was killed and 14 others were injured when an Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) crashed at a Marine Corps Base Camp.
According to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), the Marine, identified as Sgt. Matthew K. Bylski, was one of 15 service members on board the tactical vehicle that rolled over amid a "ground movement during training" around 6:00 p.m.
Two Marines were reportedly evaluated and released at the scene of the collision. Eleven others were treated and released from hospitals and one remained in a hospital in good condition as of Wednesday, December 13th.
Bylski, a native of Royal Oak, Michigan, was reportedly serving as a vehicle commander after being trained as an ACV crewman assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The press release stated that Bylski joined the Marine Corps in January of 2019.
The USMC said that the incident remains under investigation and did not elaborate further. The ACV's, which were rolled out back in 2020, have been involved in several training accidents. In 2021, a pause was ordered on their amphibious use due to problems with the vehicle's towing mechanism.
Mishaps with two vehicles back in July of 2022 led Lt. Gen. David Furness to pause all waterborne ACV operations for an investigation. That halt was lifted for only 22 days before being reinstated following another mishap. Since the pause ordered by Furness only included waterborne training, which meant the training of ACV's on land was still allowed.
In December, an ACV with three Marines aboard rolled over in the water near Camp Pendleton. No one was injured in that accident, but the Marines ended up firing the commander of its Assault Amphibian School after that.
A 2021 Government Accountability Office report said that between 2010 and 2019, Army and Marine tank and truck accidents killed more than 120 military members outside of combat.
During that same period, rollovers were associated with almost a quarter of all reported tactical vehicle accidents, more than 40 percent of serious injury wrecks, and 63% of accidents involving a military death.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the ACV was a replacement for the Vietnam-era amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) following a 2020 incident were one AAV sank off the Southern California coast, killing eight Marines and one sailor. A Marine Corps investigation found that inadequate training, shabby maintenance, and poor judgement by leaders led to the July 2020 sinking of the AAV. It was one of the deadliest Marine training accidents in decades.
In the press release, the Marine Corps said that Bylski has awards and decorations that include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Teorrism Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Col. Sean Dynan, commanding officer of the 15th MEU, said, "Words fail to express our sorrow at the tragic loss of Sgt. Bylski; an outstanding Marine and a leader within his platoon." He added, "The MEU — the Marines who lived, trained, and learned from Sgt. Bylski, mourn alongside his family and friends. The entire 15th MEU 'Vanguard' family is affected by his absence."
The Marines reportedly use amphibious vehicles to transport troops and their equipment from Navy ships to land. The armored vehicles are outfitted with machine guns and grenade launchers look like tanks as they roll ashore for beach attacks, with Marines running out of them to take up their positions.
According to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), the Marine, identified as Sgt. Matthew K. Bylski, was one of 15 service members on board the tactical vehicle that rolled over amid a "ground movement during training" around 6:00 p.m.
Two Marines were reportedly evaluated and released at the scene of the collision. Eleven others were treated and released from hospitals and one remained in a hospital in good condition as of Wednesday, December 13th.
Bylski, a native of Royal Oak, Michigan, was reportedly serving as a vehicle commander after being trained as an ACV crewman assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The press release stated that Bylski joined the Marine Corps in January of 2019.
The USMC said that the incident remains under investigation and did not elaborate further. The ACV's, which were rolled out back in 2020, have been involved in several training accidents. In 2021, a pause was ordered on their amphibious use due to problems with the vehicle's towing mechanism.
Mishaps with two vehicles back in July of 2022 led Lt. Gen. David Furness to pause all waterborne ACV operations for an investigation. That halt was lifted for only 22 days before being reinstated following another mishap. Since the pause ordered by Furness only included waterborne training, which meant the training of ACV's on land was still allowed.
In December, an ACV with three Marines aboard rolled over in the water near Camp Pendleton. No one was injured in that accident, but the Marines ended up firing the commander of its Assault Amphibian School after that.
A 2021 Government Accountability Office report said that between 2010 and 2019, Army and Marine tank and truck accidents killed more than 120 military members outside of combat.
During that same period, rollovers were associated with almost a quarter of all reported tactical vehicle accidents, more than 40 percent of serious injury wrecks, and 63% of accidents involving a military death.
According to the Associated Press (AP), the ACV was a replacement for the Vietnam-era amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) following a 2020 incident were one AAV sank off the Southern California coast, killing eight Marines and one sailor. A Marine Corps investigation found that inadequate training, shabby maintenance, and poor judgement by leaders led to the July 2020 sinking of the AAV. It was one of the deadliest Marine training accidents in decades.
In the press release, the Marine Corps said that Bylski has awards and decorations that include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Teorrism Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Col. Sean Dynan, commanding officer of the 15th MEU, said, "Words fail to express our sorrow at the tragic loss of Sgt. Bylski; an outstanding Marine and a leader within his platoon." He added, "The MEU — the Marines who lived, trained, and learned from Sgt. Bylski, mourn alongside his family and friends. The entire 15th MEU 'Vanguard' family is affected by his absence."
The Marines reportedly use amphibious vehicles to transport troops and their equipment from Navy ships to land. The armored vehicles are outfitted with machine guns and grenade launchers look like tanks as they roll ashore for beach attacks, with Marines running out of them to take up their positions.
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Comments
2023-12-20T14:08-0500 | Comment by: Barry
Appears that a re-design of the ACVs should be completed. These vehicles are lacking in the proper safety features.