Eight Marines and one sailor died in a July 2020 accident off California's coast
Their amphibious vehicle sank in a training exercise and the rescue was botched
Earlier this year a report found a multitude of errors in maintenance, training and rescue procedures contributed to the tragedy
On Wednesday two new reports - one by the Marines, one from the Navy - were published
The authors found that the commanders, while still to blame for the incident, were under intense and varied pressure from COVID and politics
The mother of one of the victims told The Washington Post she was unimpressed by the finger pointing
Marine Corps investigators found in March that the deaths were 'preventable,' and said that complacency, poor maintenance and inspections, and inadequate training all contributed to the tragedy.
But on Wednesday, the results of two new investigations led by the Marines and the Navy found that the commanders in charge of training were stressed out and struggling to deal with many competing demands put on them because of the pandemic.
Major General Robert Castellvi, who at the time was the commanding general of 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, was fired in June - the highest-ranking officer to face disciplinary action in wake of the disaster.
His firing came after that of Lt. Col. Michael J. Regner, commanding officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, in October 2020, and Col. Christopher Bronzi, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's commanding officer, who was relieved of his command in March 2021.
In all, 12 Marines have been or will be punished for their roles in the accident, Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Ryan Bruce confirmed to Military.com.
Lt. Gen. Carl Mundy III, who led the Marines' investigation, said it would be 'a mistake to discount or overlook' the demands on the forces, which he said contributed to the many errors.
'The claims on their time and attention surfaced in a number of interviews with several senior officers who described the conditions during this period as second only to their experience in combat,' Mundy wrote.
He said that 'associated reverberations' from a coronavirus outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier had 'compressed and complicated available training opportunities' for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
The Marines were also tasked with providing security for the USNS Mercy, a hospital ship that was deployed off the California coast to help with COVID-19 patients at the height of the pandemic.
Mundy also noted that the Marines had a number of other 'non-standard' missions at the time, including being sent to the U.S.-Mexico border for Trump's immigration patrols.
Finally, he said they were 'planning for major combat operations due to heightened tensions with Iran in January 2020.'
#4
The mother of one of the victims told The Washington Post she was unimpressed by the finger pointing
That's what *I* thought.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/08/2021 11:40 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"Inadequate training" and "demands on forces" - too much training time diverted to BS topics, and away from priorities like actual mission readiness.
#6
Oh. They were so upset by a laundry list of things which either hadn't happened or were inconsequential that they were rendered unable to perform the most basic, essential tasks. Must be Hell wringing your hands over what might be. Perhaps John Basilone had something to say on that topic.
#7
You know who was "under intense and varied pressure... from politics"?
Eisenhower.
Yet he was ready to take sole responsibility if D-Day failed.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
10/08/2021 14:07 Comments ||
Top||
#8
" “Stress Control Cards” which were the equivalent of a wallet-based mood ring. the recruit or soldier could put their finger on a special square, which would turn colors to indicate a range of stress levels, from “relaxed” to “most stressed.” " In today's services perhaps the Clinton thing still exists. I can hear it now; Come on man, chill. The response would be epic.
[YNet] - Russia is set to host the Taliban and other Afghan factions for talks later this month, a senior Russian diplomat said Thursday, in a move that reflects Moscow's efforts to expand its clout.
Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlin envoy on Afghanistan, said there will be a meeting of the so-called "Moscow format" talks involving the Taliban and various other Afghan parties in Moscow on Oct. 20. He didn't say who would represent the Taliban.
In remarks carried by Russian news agencies, Kabulov also said that diplomats from Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan will hold talks on Afghanistan this month. Russian collision?
What on earth do they hope to accomplish? The previous Afghan government has already surrendered.
[DW] Speaking to DW, former Afghan MP Mariam Solaimankhil blamed Pakistan, particularly its spy agencies, for the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan. She also stressed that "people around the former president Ghani" brought the country down.
Seven minute video at the link. In English.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/08/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[OneIndia] The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan resulting in the Pakistain-backed Taliban ...Arabic for students... taking control of the country has created an extremely dangerous situation in South Asia, a former national security advisor has told politicians, PTI reported.
"I think it's an extremely dangerous situation in South Asia broadly. ...I do think that it is in China's interest, right? That the Pak government and army go after these jihadist groups less selectively.
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[AlAhram] "These buses, totalling $1.8 million, will ensure that Bedouin communities in Central Sinai have access to larger coastal cities where job opportunities, municipal services, and commerce are more vibrant, " USAID said in a statement.
The new buses will ensure that 6,400 students in North Sinai, including maiden of tender yearss, are able to commute to secondary schools located at a far distance, the statement added.
"The US government, alongside the Egyptian government, is committed to stabilisation and inclusive economic development in North Sinai to lay the foundation for a more prosperous and peaceful future," the statement continued.
According to North Sinai Governor Mohammed Abdel-Fadeel Shosha, who received the buses, the bus ride will be free for students, whereas teachers will receive a 50 percent discount and citizens 40 percent.
Who is left to pay full price?
The governor added the main headquarters to operate the buses will be in the city of Hasna.
Shosha added that the buses come as a part of a $50 million North Sinai development initiative between Egypt and the United States.
In late 2019, the Egypt and USAID signed a bilateral assistance agreement to the tune of $6 million to increase educational opportunities and boost the livelihoods of the people of North Sinai.
[AlAhram] Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Thursday named a new government, led by billionaire tycoon Aziz Akhannouch whose National Rally of Independents (RNI) trounced incumbent Islamists in elections last month.
The 24-member cabinet including seven women is largely made up of technocrats, with foreign affairs minister Nasser Bourita keeping his role.
The monarch "led a ceremony... at the royal palace in Fez, appointing the members of the new government," the palace said in a statement.
The list of ministers included members of the liberal RNI and the election runner-up the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), both considered close to the palace, and the conservative Istiqlal party.
Bourita and interior minister Abdelouafi Laftit are independents.
The RNI won 102 of parliament's 395 seats in the September 8 polls, sweeping away the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) which had headed the governing coalition for a decade but took just 13 seats.
Businessman Akhannouch -- worth $2 billion according to Forbes -- has led the RNI since 2016.
His party is considered close to the palace and has been part of all coalition governments for the past 23 years, except during a brief period between 2012 and 2013.
Following his win, Akhannouch pledged to improve conditions for citizens of Morocco, where entrenched social inequalities have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The new government will also take office amid increased tensions with regional rival Algeria, which cut diplomatic ties with Rabat in August over what it said were "hostile actions".
Morocco called the move "completely unjustified" and based on "false, even absurd pretexts".
[JustTheNews] "A crisis that began at our southern border now extends beyond to every state and requires immediate action before the situation worsens," a group of 26 governors wrote to the president recently.
On Wednesday, 11 Republican governors are joining forces in Mission, Texas to oppose what they see as Biden administration open border policies that have wreaked havoc both on their respective states and the U.S. collectively.
Their announcement comes after they, as part of a group of 26 governors, called on President Joe Biden to end his open border policies and requested a meeting at the White House — to which they have not received a response.
Continued on Page 49
[DW] Former Taliban ...Arabic for students... commander Haji Najibullah is accused of killing US military personnel in 2008. The indictment comes on the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
US authorities on Thursday charged a former Taliban commander with killing US troops in 2008.
In a statement the US Department of Justice said: "Haji Najibullah, previously charged in the 2008 kidnapping of an American journalist, was also indicted today for 2008 attacks on US Service members in Afghanistan, including attacks resulting in the deaths of three American soldiers and their Afghan interpreter and the downing of a US helicopter."
News of the indictment comes on the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES IN DETAIL?
The charge relates to offenses committed against US troops between 2007 and 2009.
In one instance he is accused of being involved in, three service personnel were killed on June 26, 2008 when their convoy was attacked.
In another incident Najibullah and fighters under his command allegedly downed a US military helicopter with RPGs in October 2008. Its understood that at the time the Taliban claimed that all those on board had perished, when in fact, no one was killed.
The former commander is also alleged to have been involved in the kidnapping of an American journalist along with two Afghan nationals in November 2008.
Their three hostages were forced to hike over the border into Pakistain where they were then detained for the next seven months. The statement alleges that the kidnappers made calls to the journalist's wife in which he was made to beg for his life at gunpoint.
Prosecutor Audrey Strauss said in the statement:"As alleged, during one of the most dangerous periods of the conflict in Afghanistan, Haji Najibullah led a vicious band of Taliban holy warriors who terrorized part of Afghanistan and attacked US troops."
Najibullah was arrested in October 2020 and extradited from Ukraine to the US where he is being held.
[AlAhram] An Israeli judge's conclusion this week that "quiet" Jewish prayer should be allowed at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, revered by Moslems and Jews, has stirred Paleostinian furore over the Jerusalem flashpoint.
Jews refer to the site as the Temple Mount, referencing two temples that were said to have stood there in antiquity. al-Aqsa is at the heart of the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict, falling within Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, but administered by the Waqf Islamic affairs council.
The Waqf called the Tuesday ruling by Jerusalem Magistrates' Court judge Billha Yahalom an illegitimate "provocation," while Paleostinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh warned Israel against any moves to enforce it.
Continued on Page 49
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties (CPVS) in Syria, said that the militants of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group (banned in the Russian Federation) are preparing a staging of a "chemical attack" in Syria.
The representative of the Ministry of Defense noted that information that the militants are preparing provocations in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone has been received by the Central Command Center for a month.
"According to available information, the terrorists are planning to stage a 'chemical attack' on the contact line in the areas of the settlements of Kansafra and Kdura with the involvement of the pseudo-humanitarian organization "White Helmets" and local media resources for staged filming," Kulit said.
The actions of the militants are aimed at accusing the government forces of Syria of "using poisonous substances against the civilian population." Russians and Syrians long have maintained that chemical attacks which sparked a response from NATO were staged events.
[AnNahar] The Lebanese government has officially tasked one of its members to communicate with Damascus, in the first such move since the eruption of the Syrian revolt in 2011.
Visits by ministers in the previous governments had taken place in personal capacity or following an oral approval from the prime minister.
The decision was taken at Cabinet’s first session at the Grand Serail on Wednesday.
"Industry Minister George Boujikian and Agriculture Minister Abbas al-Hajj Hassan demonstrated the difficulties that the agricultural and industrial exports are facing, especially as to the high transport cost," al-Akhbar newspaper said on Thursday.
"When (Prime Minister Najib) Miqati asked Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamiyeh about the reasons, the latter explained to him the crisis of high fees on Lebanese trucks that transit via Syria to Arab countries," the daily added.
The premier then asked Hamiyeh to communicate with the Syrian side to find solutions, stressing that "there is no problem in communicating with anyone if it does not harm the country’s interests."
Hamiyeh, however, insisted that the issue should take place based on an "official authorization" from the government, prompting Miqati to tell him that the government officially authorizes him to "communicate with his Syrian, Iraqi, Jordanian and Ottoman Turkish counterparts," al-Akhbar added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/08/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
So why has the Iranian oil been trucked from Syrian ports if nobody asked for it?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AlAhram] "These buses, totalling $1.8 million, will ensure that Bedouin communities in Central Sinai have access to larger coastal cities where job opportunities, municipal services, and commerce are more vibrant, " USAID said in a statement.
...Arabic for 
