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On the morning of July 30th, 2020, marines set 
out on a training drill, from the USS Somerset  

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to San Clemente Island, California, as part of 
an early deployment training. One of these AAVs,  

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known as Track Five, would sink later that day. 
Eight Marines and one sailor died in the accident.  

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Now a little more than seven months later, a 
lengthy Marine investigation, reveals that seeds  

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of the tragedy were sown long ago and came through 
a confluence of mechanical and human failures.  

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To start with, the AAV in question, Track Five, 
was a 36-year old vehicle that had set deadline,  

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which basically means it's too broken to 
use, for almost a year before being deployed.  

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Pressed back into use for the deployment, by the 
time of the exercise last summer, Track Five had  

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more problems. It leaks outlet water in from a 
variety of places. And pivotally, on that day,  

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problems with the transmission 
that would later cripple it.  

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In fact, before the vehicle left the beach of 
San Clemente Island, an oil leak was detected.  

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But after crewman tightened bolts and poured 
six gallons of oil into the transmission,  

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about a quarter of the amount required to fill 
it, the decision was made to make the journey  

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back across the water to the Somerset. 
That call among others, was one of the  

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first in the string of human errors that 
would doom some of the service members.  

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The investigation found the trouble for Track 
Five, on July 30th, started with water leaking  

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into the crew compartment, as sea water 
splashed around the soles of the boots  

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of the 14 service members in the back, then to 
their ankles. The engine problem returned again,  

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the transmission ceased, power was lost and 
Track Five was suddenly floating in rough waters.  

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Interviews included in the report revealed that 
as water rose in the crew compartment, confusion  

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started to set in. Without forward momentum, the 
pumps wouldn't keep up with the water collecting  

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inside. When it hit knee level, the call 
was made to evacuate, but trouble continued.  

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Communications were down, forcing the vehicle 
commander to begin waving the November flag,  

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indicating that the vehicle may be sinking. 
After 20 minutes, the nearest two AAVs  

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moved to rescue the sinking vehicle. One of the 
AAVs attempting to evacuate the service member  

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struck Track Five, turning it broadside into the 
waves. Inside, the Marines weren't sure whether to  

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drop their gear before attempting to evacuate. The 
problem highlighted by the reports finding, that  

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almost none of the Marines and sailors in Track 
Five had Egress training. Two Marines weren't even  

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qualified. Then as the Marines began to evacuate, 
disaster struck. Turned broadside into the waves  

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by the collision, Track Five took a large swell 
that swamped the boat. The vehicle commander  

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told investigators, quote, "I remember saying 
watch out "and that the Marine closest to the  

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turret "got pushed into the water. "I said, get 
out, get out, get out. "And everything starts to  

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run together. "I remember the Marines were still 
"in the back of the vehicle, just looking at me."  

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The swell fed sea water into the AAV and Track 
Five went nose up and sank quickly with 11 people  

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still onboard. Evidence in the report showed that 
appeared, most of the Marines who went down with  

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the vehicle, were eventually able to escape. But 
do the weight of their equipment, they would never  

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reach the surface alive. All the Marines killed 
were found wearing their body armor. Seven still  

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had their Kevlar helmets on and two still had 
their rifles on their body. The investigation  

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shows not one error led to the accident but a 
confluence of institutional mistakes and bad  

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decisions made, the day of the accident, doomed 
the nine service members. So far two commanders  

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have been fired for their role in the sinking. 
And the Marine Corps started taking dozens of  

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actions to ensure the safety of Marines in future 
AAV operations. The Corps launched an additional  

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investigation into how these vehicles were chosen, 
and why there are so many training lapses prior  

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to the appointment. We'll keep following the 
story as it develops, at Marine Corps Times.