U.S marine commander relieved of duty over accident that killed nine

The commanding officer of a Camp Pendleton-based marine unit was relieved of command following an investigation into an assault amphibious vehicle training accident off San Clemente Island that killed nine service members last summer, says the Times of San Diego.

Col. Christopher Bronzi was relieved of command “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command, following completion of the command investigation into the assault amphibious vehicle mishap.”

During the July 2020 training exercise, an amphibious craft took on water and sank with 16 service members aboard.

The amphibious troop-transport vehicle was en route to a waiting ship during a training mission about 80 miles west of Encinitas when it foundered for unknown reasons, according to Coast News.

The 26-ton vessel went down about 1,500 yards from a beach on the northwest side of the island in water several hundred feet deep.

Seven members of the Camp Pendleton-based crew survived the accident.

The findings of the investigation have not been publicly released.

This clip was made about a month after the accident.

Main image courtesy of U.S Marine Corps

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