Once towing issues are fixed, Marines can use new armored personnel carriers in foreign waters – Orange County Registry

The Marines’ new heavily armored marine vehicles are returning to training in the waters off Camp Pendleton, five months after being grounded when at least one capsized while surfing and failed to tow in. Okay.

The eight-wheel amphibious combat vehicle, which will replace the Marines’ aging fleet of amphibious assault vehicles for transporting troops on land and from ships to shore, has returned to the water in an exercise with Force Japan Ground Self Defense this week.

The training exercise, known as Iron Fist, begins Saturday, January 15, with an opening ceremony and continues through early February.

Prior to the end of sea training in September, the new ACVs – manufactured by BAE Systems, together with the AAV aircraft company – were first tested by Marines from Delta Company. West Bank. The Marines took them across the harsh desert landscape at its base at Twentynine Palms and off the beaches at Camp Pendleton. These vehicles were assigned to the 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion early last summer at the coastal base.

But during training, at least one ACV capsized while surfing, and the Marines had trouble pulling it to shore. Other circumstances also raise concerns about the towing mechanism, said Major James Stenger, a spokesman for the Marines. Vehicles were carefully pulled out of the water.

Last week, the Marines released a statement that “following the development of a new towline solution designed to address previous problems with vehicle towing mechanisms,” ACVs could become open training again on the water. During the hiatus, the Marines used the ACV only in garrison areas and in protected watersheds such as the Del Mar Basin at Camp Pendleton.

General David Berger, commander of the Marines, recently gave the older AAV fleet for future deployment, although the Marines may still use them on land as they are phased out.

Continued use of the ACV in underwater operations requires all units to complete a number of training and safety steps generated from investigations into the sinking of an AAV during training in 2020, in which nine men were killed. Investigators said the deaths were “preventable” and were due to errors in proper training and adherence to standard operating procedures.

Therefore, all crew members on ACVs being used, as well as the Marines and sailors they will be carrying, must pass water survivability tests, know how to escape from a damaged or sunken vehicle on land and in water, and understand emergency communications. Procedures.

Exercises with Japanese partners this week include bringing tank-like vehicles across the water, retrieving personnel from the water and transferring crews from one vehicle to another.

The Japanese soldiers were using the AAV they brought with them for training. Training with the Japanese has been held annually since 2006, the Japanese soldiers who trained here in 2020 will return.

Amphibious training is vital to the Marine Corps mission and is central to commanders’ modernization of the Marines, especially where it may be, officials said. future conflicts in the watery Indo-Pacific, where maneuvering around small island chains will be critical, officials said.