How the Marine Corps Failed Squadron 242

Falling from 15,000 feet, two Marines hit the Pacific Ocean at 800 feet per minute. They were bruised and cold, their rescue equipment failed and help was hours away. Read our investigation into the 2018 disaster that killed six Marines: propub.li/2tgUnGc
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[@ProPublica]

Read our investigation into the 2018 disaster that killed six Marines: propub.li/2tgUnGc

[@danielwatts7375]

I have more information regarding the state of the US Marine air wing. I served in a squadron right next door to 242 and know what the entire air wing has dealt with over the past decade.

[@leeadams5941]

@ProPublica...you folks want to investigate something, Investigate the root cause of the Mississippi Marine Corp Accident..Yanky 72 and ask why a perfectly good propeller repair system was transferred to the Air Force

[@andycruz612]

1I served in the group headquarters of 242. I guess it would be to simple for a Standdown and save good pilots and get rid of the real problem of poor leadership at the MAG level. Complacency always starts with those who've been there to long and are set in there ways as not to rock the boat for promotion and or a clean retirement. Way to go Marine Corps, As usual, You went after the wrong Marines again. Has the Corps forgot the 14 traits of a Marine. Obviously they have. This really makes me mad!

[@andycruz612]

@sticler21 That would have been apart of a honest n honorable investigation that should have took place. Instead they used the CO of VMF 242 as a scape goat to protect themselves from trouble. If you listened to what was said in this story, You'd understand that someone in the MAG-13 level had something to hide. The CO of 242 is a Marine Officer who only takes Orders from the MAG-13 group Commanding Officer. The CO of VMF242 followed orders to complete the block mission of training to prepare for was with North Korea. The decision was made by the MAG group CO with the info from 242 CO that they weren't prepared and had faulty night vision that distorted the pilots vision. And they as well had faulty emergency beacons. These equipment faults should have been corrected first and 242 should have been ordered to stand down till they were. That decision fall on the shoulders of the Group CO of MAG-13. Not the CO of 242 squadron. 242 CO and others in the 242 unit repeatedly reported the problems before and after the warning order to initiate the training. 242 was obviously blown off because someone in the Group command had something to prove, or Hey, Look what I did. Or definitely had something to hide. THE GROUP CO OF MAG 13 FAILED AT A SAFETY STAND DOWN PERIOD!! The Group XO did as well and so did the Group SgtMaj. This is where the 2nd place the investigators should have went when they gathered all info from 242 after the accident that killed these Marines. An accident that should have never happened. When the investigators heard of the complaints of the faulty equipment and secured the paperwork of the same faulty equipment, and the fact that the pilots didn't get the 4 weeks to adjust there sleep cycle as per Marine Corps regulations prior to night flying operations, The road, Investigation leads to one way. Straight to the top!! The MAG-13 Group Commanding Officer and his Staff. I learned a lot in my 14 years serving in the Marine Corps. And as a former law enforcement officer investigating accidents. Yes, This kind of accident is not the same as a vehicle accident. The investigation principles are the same. The evidence speaks and tells were and who is guilty if the Honest and Honorable investigators will listen to it and seek only the truth. Theirs no compromise to the truth! Listen to the story again and pay close attention to the details of everything said. You will conclude, This story speaks of the Honor and truth of the 242 CO. Did by chance you serve in the Marine Corps?? From what it sounds to me, You never did! Not trying to be rude or insulting to you. Love to here your feed back. Take care. And I'm glad you care about this incident to make a statement. That's how we fix n solve things like this.

[@ProPublica]

@@danielwatts7375 Hi Daniel, thanks for watching. If you'd like to get in touch with our lead reporter on this project please contact Robert.Faturechi @ propublica.org

[@baophan3515]

This is the culture of the Marine Corps. We get old, outdated and hand-me-down equipment and leadership asks us to deal with them. We are to take them adapt and overcome. All sounds good until something goes wrong and the brass absolve themselves from any wrongdoing.

[@jacobmaurer3125]

Bao Phan Wrong, this isn’t 2005. We adopted new aircraft, new AAVs, new body armor, the M27 IAR, state of the art Bino NVG, etc.

[@daniellainez6533]

@@jacobmaurer3125 bullshit im still riding in an lav built in 1985 and humvees so banged up the power steering and brakes constantly go down. Thanks for likes

[@trevor19qhshe]

@@jacobmaurer3125 yeah that's absolutely false. I'm not going to throw my Div under but we have atleast 1 track break down every single opperation. Hand-me-down gear from CIF that's been torn up, NVGs that have batteries leaked in them because they aren't ever maintained, PEC15 and 16s plastic is dry rotted and falling apart. Nothing about the Marine corps is great. It's a JOKE. And don't even get me started about command climate and morale.

[@frannyfranfrancis]

Semper Fi!

[@Rando.515]

I was issued Vietnam gear last week:(

[@Jack-oz4bf]

Marines are given the lowest budget out of all the military branches and are expected to do more with less and die. I say this as a Marine.

[@codyayo6158]

Lowest budget primarily due to the size, less than half the size of the next largest branch.

[@RATsnak3]

Cody Ayo it would seem that way, but the marines are still stuck using old equipment.

[@kingfishcl8083]

@@codyayo6158 Marines are the cheapest per personnel. They get hand-me-downs from the Navy, Army and Air Force. That's how they remain competitive vs other services; they do more with less.

[@b-trucker7717]

@Danny Walker or maybe marine wanna be army😂

[@BBAERSTANCE1]

Except you have the best training 🙄

[@leeadams5941]

Having been in USMC aviation for 22 years, I would say Pro Publica is spot on. Asia operations have always been the "end of the line" for personal and parts. Make mission at any cost has always been the mantra and what separates the USMC from other services, not a bad thing when you have all the support needed. Years of over extension in the Middle East have taken their toll, much experience has "hit the road" leaving a void. One thing will never change, senior personal will never take a hit...shit rolls downhill.

[@knutdergroe9757]

TRUTH, and with the Denial of Responsibility. So goes the rocks that the Marine Corps should be building on. Instead, the LEADERSHIP of the Corps is building on sand. Responsibility once taken, should be carried till death. Never refused or denied. It is that EXAMPLE that is to be FOLLOWED. And that my Brother is why the Corps is going the SHIT. There is no good and proper Example to be Followed.

[@PrinceAlberts]

I did eight years in Naval Aviation out of Japan and it was the same way most of the time. It’s difficult to get parts, supplies, and personnel, but you’re expected to make every mission without failure.

[@PerdidoMX]

How old were the aircraft you flew on Lee? I'm sure you did unaided night AR's too....

[@leeadams5941]

@@PerdidoMX As I remember most of the F models were around 1962 or so and the R models seems like mid to late 70s as I remember the R models in 352 still had GTC's and old style intercom..the four 252 had were equiped with APU,s and newer intercoms

[@emjay2927]

Funny how Marines always have to "make due" (Translation: Fix this problem LCpl/Cpl/Sgt because my bachelor's degree in business didn't actually teach me anything) but there always seems to be room in the budget to maintain the officers on base housing and the fucking base golf course. I once saw half my unit get pulled in the middle of immersion training at Pendleton to get sent to San Juan Capistrano to try and get rich housewives to donate money for the fucking Birthday Ball.

[@D00MerJohn]

The sad part is the Marine corps basically laid a lot of this at the feet of MR. Compton rather than up the chain where it belonged.

[@attaat]

Same in every force around the world. Shit rolls downhill, always has.

[@james94582]

I'll say I agree and it is in fact sad, that all blame got put on Mr. Compton and the crew members... I will say good on Mr. Compton for the extreme ownership in the situation, regardless of thr ultimate failure point(s) not being him or his command!!

[@blueguitar4419]

Typical military always refusing to put its senior leaders on notice

[@Kharmazov]

"in this country, it is good to execute an admiral from time to time to encourage the others" - Voltaire

[@Mokimanify]

Eyes look the other way till open conflict erupts then Marines die till the competent officers fill the holes made by the dismissal of the bad ones .. Franks

[@wolfganglauda5630]

Yeah the Military has had real scumbags in leadership: Traitor Flynn, Legend in his own mind McChrystal (who was jerk when he was a Major). but they are picked by the president and approved by Congress. In this case we have an asshole playing president fucking over real Americans.

[@WootTootZoot]

@@wolfganglauda5630 There is a "top down" culture of denial in the US Military from idiotic accident investigation boards to Command level stupidity getting pressure from the DoD to protect "Daddy Trump's" friends in the contractor side of operations. Denying there was ever an issue with the tracking beacon goes all the way to the top where the contractors complain they squadrons aren't maintaining the equipment properly and getting support for their denials from the White House and Pentagon leadership. Add in the USMC's "make do" attitude, that's where people get killed in the simplest operations.

[@joehayward2631]

Just horrible the Marines also threw a raider sq under the bus then they trashed them in the news. But when the findings come out the Marines did not put out the findings. I was a Marine very proud. But these type of actions by top commanders is beyond words

[@davidhoran7116]

Joe Hayward is this sort of thing common?

[@thatsclassified1]

A damn shame

[@mindelo23]

And then they wonder why people don't want to enlist.

[@BubbaVision948]

...

[@DET_C0RD]

I work with this guy and we call him gunny for obvious reasons. He always says the military makes great outstanding people but at the same time you have these scum bags within the military who like to ride on the train of others successes.

[@nodnerbhu]

What a surprise pilots taking selfies or recording themselves. They won't find one pilot who doesn't do this across any branch, everyone does it.

[@williammitchell8247]

@Just Moi How does taking a self justify the negligence by the Marine Corps?

[@blackhatfreak]

@@williammitchell8247 way to miss the point.

[@williammitchell8247]

@@blackhatfreak The point is the Marine Corps tried to use this as an example to make it the pilots fault that they crashed. When neither have anything to do with the other.

[@matthewgillespie2835]

Brendon I can see that with you.

[@captnclutch_5916]

even in the civilian life, myself included

[@djsteel56]

A very good piece of investigative journalism, all too rare in these troubled times.

[@saskiacalvert7547]

those "troubled times" are now the good old days

[@spockospockon6519]

They paid for better beacons they were forced to remove and they got reprimanded? The very items that would have saved a life!! The command trying to remove the obvious blame they have and put it on the crew! Really what a bunch of a-holes!!! WTF take responsibility for your incompetent command!! If they had let the beacons stay that man would be alive now!! The command is responsible for his death and has to be held accountable for his death!!

[@user-gu1hl2kx2k]

the unauthorized beacons were removed because they were not fully tested. it could jam radars or emit EM radiation that shows its location to enemies.

[@PerdidoMX]

So let's focus on the beacon that the injured pilot had. Not the gun decking of quals, not the improper crew rest they said they had, not the non standard receiver flow around the tanker. Just the locater beacon.... Smh...

[@user-gu1hl2kx2k]

@@PerdidoMX unfortunately the military industrial complex doesnt care about it

[@johnwayne2103]

It's not that easy and since you have never served in a Marine Corps Aviation unit it would take hours to explain it to you.

[@Brobrobagins420]

@@user-gu1hl2kx2k way to miss all the actual reason.

[@piersondodd6164]

Marine Corps brass: “Skate or die”

[@sullivanpecharka3830]

in this rare instance he did both

[@dong7474]

Smith, the man that WASNT in the pilot seat, was relieved of his duties for a tragic accident that he had no hand in? are you kidding me?

[@TexasGreed]

I feel for them ALL but it's not right to assume he had no hand in the accident. A pilot and his WSO in a fighter are almost like 2 brains living in a single organism. The longer they fly together the closer their bond becomes. It's not uncommon for a WSO to make a call and the pilot to trust that call with his very life. For all we know Smith made the call to manuever right or even back left and it was heard and or recorded by operations management. I'm AM NOT claiming this is what happened but it's always a possibility.

[@cracklingvoice]

Everyone who was part of that mission and survived got some amount of stick for it. Three careers ended, all comparatively junior officers, to protect the Corps. If you don't have birds or starts on your collar, you are expendable if it threatens the Brass.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Don G, It's his command fail. The buck stops at the CO.

[@Fater4511]

so when the marine corp can't supply the supplies to the squadron to allow them to fly all their planes and their pilots have to share their birds to allow others to fly that's on the CO? their flight hours being down due to not having parts, ejections seat not working right, goggles not working are on the CO? that is supply. you request they send. that's how it works.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@Fater4511 You make noise. You make the air wing make you a priority. You call your Congressman. Hold a damn bake sale for parts. What are they doing with this ground time?

[@wdburr3235]

People don’t realize accidents like this happen all the time in the Marine Corps I knew several marines that have lost there lives because of things like this

[@venomsnakeYGBSM]

im sorry to hear and my deepest condolences

[@ontargetthomunclesam3926]

I would have to agree with you on this issue having served thirty years (25active) retired master gunnery sergeant Thomas PMI SOI Camp Geiger North Carolina

[@scruffy5119]

“You want logistics, join the army, marines make do”

[@maneakihizkiaarvid6132]

Generation kill

[@bl8danjil]

Ha ha, sad but true.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

ItsScruffy I admit, that is why I volunteered for the Army.

[@makeracistsafraidagain]

maneaki Hizkia arvid You're welcome for your Freedom to comment.

[@johnd2058]

@@makeracistsafraidagain Historically, though, Army ground forces prefer fighter-bomber support from Marine air over the AF's F-whatevers.

[@rogercrowell-nugent1840]

Senior naval officers have always thrown juniors under the bus, ie: abandoning 1st marines on Guadalcanal, the u.s.s Indianapolis, the typhoon debacles 1 and2, dropping a seal team 80 miles from their target never to be seen again, it goes on and on.

[@samuelWx]

Word!

[@alexmcbrayer9755]

What’s the one about the SEAL team being dropped 80 miles away from their target? I can’t find that anywhere?

[@BeltFedSelfDefense]

@@alexmcbrayer9755 yeah. You have my attention.

[@georgea.567]

I do not see how the Navy abandoned the Marines on Guadalcanal. The Navy had to pull out temporarily due to 4 heavy cruisers being sunk with the loss of thousands of sailors. Also which juniors were thrown under the bus for Halsey's typhoons? Basically everyone blamed Halsey, it's just Nimitz did not want to relieve Halsey from command for morale purposes. His sailors and the public loved him, and Nimitz was afraid of what effect it would have on the fighting spirit of the fleet.

[@jorenvanderark3567]

At guadalcanal the navy was beaten back after losing 4 ships and thousands of sailors. USS Indianapolis was sunk during a secret mission were as few people as possible were informed where she was and what she was transporting, the risks of what would happen if she was sunk was known and accepted. And its captain was blamed for it until the day he died. Last time i checked no junior officer was blamed for either of the Typhoon debacles. Seals and other special forces are often dropped tens of miles away from their target, especially during stealth missions. How it comes that the SEALS lost their way and got lost until now I don't know, but if they didn't manage it despite being trained for it then I blame the SEALS and not the Navy as a whole.

[@Jeff-uq7iu]

Out of every $1 spent on defense the Marine Corps get less than 10 cents.

[@thebestfeelingissuccess5424]

Jeff NASA is less

[@ls200076]

@@thebestfeelingissuccess5424 NASA gets 1 cent

[@aterranrepublicgrunt9169]

Zswagy _ uh, NASA doesn't defend anything.. so I fail to see any sort of relevance at all.

[@hanfei6871]

Zswagy _ NASA doesn’t do anything that matters in this context

[@notphilosophical]

@@ls200076 NASA sends rovers to space and leave them there. The Marines fight our wars. Where's the equivalence?

[@thegeneralissimo470]

You can tell Compton was tearing up a bit at this. It sounds like he did his damndest, but nothing was good enough. Best of luck to him.

[@00raiser169]

Damn people say skirting responsibility in the USMC is common! imagine just what else was swept under the rug holy moly.

[@logantygum9711]

Yeah, people need to just wake up and learn what you hear about incidents are usually cover ups and hardly the truth, both for safety and a few other things.

[@BubbaVision948]

@@logantygum9711 ////

[@logantygum9711]

@@BubbaVision948 what's up dude?

[@Shitbird3249]

00raiser169 shut up weeb

[@noeeon9910]

It's called sk8ting, and I very much disliked other Marines who did it. Just because you lost moral doesn't mean you get to avoid your duties. I worked with liquid oxygen 6074.. a mistake could cost a life, a big mistake could cost half the base.

[@justj9053]

dear god, that's the brass, not accepting responsibility for their own actions. I can only hope the changes have been made...

[@saltyroserocks457]

I'll bet the Higher Command Staff above Squadron 242 weren't short staffed.

[@Noble713]

III MEF and its subordinate headquarters are CHRONICALLY under-staffed. It's not just a squadron-level problem. Tours out here in Okinawa are short, experience is lost as people turnover so quickly, and we are never close to having full billets for Staff NCOs and Officers. I MEF (aka "Imperial MEF") and II MEF get the lion's share of resources.

[@saltyroserocks457]

@Lizard King The staff of Maj. Gen. Thomas Weidley, the top Marine Corps aviation commander in the region who relieved LTC Compton, comes to mind. "Compton had warned higher command for months the squadron was at risk. In dozens of memos and emails, he’d detailed problems with training, equipment and morale. He’d run the numbers showing how distinctly disadvantaged the squadron was, with senior positions unfilled and basic parts for the safe and regular operation of its planes unavailable." And then they burned this guy.

[@SNAFUBlogspot]

Outstanding work! Heartbroken over the deaths and infuriated over the response to the Marines. Again well done to you all for getting the truth out in the public.

[@jacobovalencia7685]

R.I.P Sumo 41

[@minydoom]

Marine Corps equipment not working like it should? Imagine my shock...

[@jorhed2285]

Excellent! Nice work Propublica. This is spot on about the USMC leadership in Japan during that time.

[@johnathandoe9346]

That unit has a crazy important mission just because of where it's located, between China and N.Korea. The scary thing is,this story highlights they can't perform all but three types of missions they're assigned, nearly all they're planes are broke, and the crews do not or can not perform their duties. And that's just one Marine Corps combat aviation unit. This makes one wonder about the operational readiness of the rest of the fleet and service as a whole.

[@jnicholaswildcat]

Johnathan Doe you think that’s bad? I’m with a comm maintenance unit and we’re so badly fucked over it’s honestly a fucking miracle any comm is running, we’re so far in the hole on test equipment that we can NO LONGER put out more than we take in, and we constantly beg and plead with HQMC to get us more equipment and more people, and more money, but all we get is the same old square peg round hole answer that they expect us to work with, how the actual fuck am I supposed to fix all the damn amps, and all the damn transmitters and etcetera when I can’t even troubleshoot the shit, 90%, 90% of all the equipment we take in currently we have to QCF (aka fail) because we just can’t do anything to it or with it, not to mention we also don’t have the supply support to order parts or CCA (circuit cards) because we don’t have the money, and we rely on A SINGLE company for all of the comm equipment and parts, it’s literally going to kill us all, but hey square fucking peg, round fucking hole, this is why nobody is staying in the corps

[@lray5081]

@@jnicholaswildcat You should quit the corps while u can, those failing comm will certainly get people killed in the future.

[@24Mossberg]

Depressing. Chain of Command could have done better.

[@desertdude8274]

Same could be said for many organizations. Government is full of this kind of thing.

[@seffy333]

This gives me some much needed perspective from when I was with Vmfa-242

[@imranhazim5434]

"It just an exercise"

[@AussieRoberts]

Absolute incompetent and negligence at the higher levels. All deserve to be court martialed, stripped of rank and put in jail.

[@richardthorn7726]

USMC killed their own, sad.

[@jesusisdahomie5348]

The USMC didn't "killed" the guy, failed leadership did. Things happens in every branch man.

[@maneakihizkiaarvid6132]

You want logistic join the army marines make do

[@frankdesantis8078]

Well done Pro Publica. You have highlighted so well the age of unaccountability. It is particularly so in our most expensive military in the world that some how doesn't have the funds to keep its pilots current and qualified nor properly equipped, but does have the funds to keep in investing more and more on futuristic needless equipment. An exercise that as this affair demonstrates diminishes readiness and leads to tragic consequences. Thanks for your work in revealing this unacceptable management of our aviators.

[@fleetwarrior75]

This is what happens when your organization becomes a bureaucracy!

[@Jeff-uq7iu]

They all have!

[@Astrocat-od5cy]

The military is literally a bureaucracy by definition

[@BeltFedSelfDefense]

Peacetime Marine Corps is worst Marine Corps.

[@mikegreck2625]

its worse, its become a social experiment

[@timothyhines7845]

That's what happens when the investigators report to a culpable party.

[@DarthEvilicus]

You should investigate the midair collision of two marine CH-53s in Hawaii. You’ll find the situation very similar

[@williamcollins2622]

Wow.....things haven't change much. I retired in 2005....same issues, same problem, same "solutions".

[@Dog.soldier1950]

It’s actually VMFA(AW) 242. Which means they have special training and equipment to preform mission in ‘’all weather’’

[@high_drivexxx]

I remember the night this occurred. That squadron is based on my current base in Japan. Mr. Compton is the type of commander that the Marine Corps needs. Not the garbage that try to cover up everything. Captain Resilard, I hope you Rest In Peace sir.

[@islandmonusvi]

During her deployment in San Diego, my daughter encountered similar command failures.

[@TheWotnwabbit]

S**t always flows downhill, never the other way.

[@deathlarsen7502]

Never heard a thing about this in mainstream media. Not a peep

[@johnwayne2103]

Well if it didn't have anything to do with Climate change, Transgenderism or abortion that's not part of the news narrative. To be fair I heard about it, the news gave it 10 secs of airplay.

[@JuanMartinez-hu6jk]

The story was whitewashed in The Marine Corps Times. It stunk to high heaven.

[@TheHannukahZombie]

@@johnwayne2103you know John Wayne never served, changed his name from Marion and was in general a piece of shit person, right? No wonder you take after him and use his name, you’re no different than he was.

[@psychicumbreon326]

"His radio wouldnt work, the marine corps hadnt set it to transmite location" That...sounds like the unit commo guy, not the marine corps as a whole

[@065Tim]

04:30 Recommendations to adjust sleep schedule to work at night. Army reconnaissance: "You'll cross the LD tonight, we expect you to do all mission planning today."

[@sunstudios98]

Tungst The Marine Corps’ NATOPS manual states that it is recommended to take the 4 weeks to adjust. But if you ask me, it’s just there to save the corps’ ass. I’m the marine corps, I can work all night and be expected to be at a 0600 brief for a 0900 flight.

[@BeltFedSelfDefense]

@@sunstudios98 yep. Forklifting on 3 days no sleep on the flightline is some scary shit.

[@KB4QAA]

This "4 weeks to adjust to night flying" is a red herring. The USN/USMC fly at night when needed to. What "adjusting"??? I never heard any such silliness in my navy flying. This is some misunderstanding of the video.

[@HeavyDrop_]

Sounds like a typical military operation gone bad where executives are doing everything possible to cover their own poor leadership.

[@knutdergroe9757]

Denial of Responsibility is EVIL, it is more than a Sin ! From Wing CG, to MAG CO, to Squadron CO, ALL HAVE A HAND IN THESE DEATHS ! The BLOOD is on everyone of their hands ! And I am a MARINE with 8 years active time. My last three with VMFA314. LEADERSHIP in the Marine Corps Air wing is terrible to nonexistent. And that is a Responsibility bearing on the entire MARINE CORPS. I say this with some knowledge. Being third generation MARINE. My Father served with Gen. A.A.Vandegrift, Gen. Gerald C. Thomas(the only Marine to go from Pvt. To Gen. with every rank between and his Sea Daddy), Gen. Lem Sheppard, Gen. David Shoup(the Marine my Father credited with saving his(my Father's) life). They wrote the Marine Corps Book on LEADERSHIP, and My Father taught me, BY EXAMPLE ! SEMPER FI MARINES !

[@aixaburlison4]

The Corps killed them

[@mirlindbacaj4157]

Shame on the senior leaders who blamed the flight crew!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Equipment be damned. The guy on the stick failed ultimately.

[@dalemckinnie6256]

I was stationed at Iwakuni in the med 1970's working on F4J phantoms. There were two F4 squadrons there at the time. VMFA 115 and VMFA 232. About 15 jets for each squadron. Also a small RF4 squadron. Most of the time at least half of the jets were grounded awaiting parts or maintenance. Many of the parts were not available or had to be shipped from the US. Also just because a jet could fly didn't mean it was ready to be deployed for combat. Many of the subsystems on the jets were not working properly. At that time we made due with what we had. As a side note, my command were always reminding us that North Korea had tanks lined up at the DMZ and we could be deployed for combat at any time. The RF4's had taken photos of the tanks.. That was 45 years ago. Sad to here about the Marines that died in this accident.

[@TheDsmithemtp]

As a Marine I can say that everyone thinks “Government Issued” sounds cool, until you look down at your hand-me-down weapon and realize that it was manufactured by the lowest bidder in the WORLD.

[@pacificstatesofamerica]

“Commanders sitting far from the front lose touch with the battle that's being fought. They become too optimistic, decisions are made that have no bearing on what the facts might be.”

[@jollygreen4662]

A rare story that happens too often. It's by the grace of heaven that similar events happen without lost of lives.

[@T.Y.B.o.d.]

Just for the record, I am 12 years old and remember when this happened.

[@samuelWx]

All I can say as a former Navy Helo crew chief and rescue swimmer with over 1000 flight hours before I got out is: go easy Devil Dogs, go easy brothers. I'll see you on the other side.

[@christopherperez732]

Samuel Weatherford I was a contract aircrew man finished the first school down in Pensacola. Had orders for sere and than I get a call from medical saying I need to go there ASAP, than found out I wasn’t fit to fly... my hopes and dreams gone like that, now I’m a admin for this 5 year contract

[@garvstr]

Great story. Very sad, but hopefully action will be taken to increase our readiness.

[@mynameismyname8366]

Unfortunately it sounds like very little was done to change things permanently

[@xMRPx]

@@mynameismyname8366 You're right. In order to make change there first must be a problem. And for top brass to admit there's a problem would mean that yesterday and all the previous days before that, they weren't doing their jobs correctly. It's never as simple as making the neccesary changes, fixing the problem and moving forward. Blame has to be assigned to someone, in this case, the deceased became the scapegoat. God forbid the top brass rustle up some integrity to save a pilot's life, it might damage their career. So, ya, I doubt anything improved. In fact it didn't. You read what "goldeneye" wrote about the Wing. Plus, another thing you said was correct. Departments within the Government spend money just because it's allocated to them. I'm living proof that that's true. I served from '83-'92 in the Corps and was assigned to various motor pools during that time. The longer you're in, the higher rank you become. After awhile you no longer do the driving, instead you become more a pencil pusher. When I became a SSgt I worked more closely with the Maintenance Dept and not my drivers. They fell under the platoon Sgt. I distinctly remember being told by my OIC one day that the end of the fiscal quarter was approaching so I needed to order whatever parts we might need someday, spend the money, otherwise if we don't, we won't be allocated as much the next quarter. I found that rather curious, then did as I was told. As you stated earlier, a government... a country... any entity can't last forever with that mentality. There's a tremendous amount of waste of money occurring within our government. No one can deny that. Not so much from people like me that would order 12 tires for a 6x6 truck when it only required 10, but from instances like ensuring the military buys $200 hammers from your wife's brothers' hammer company. NASA uses a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen for rocket fuel. Kerosene... they pay $98/gallon for the stuff I can buy at Home Depot for $6/gal. Only my 5 gallon bucket says it's great as a heating oil, it doesn't mention rocket fuel. That costs extra. I use sugar and KNO3 myself. Getting off topic..... People in Congress, such as Nancy Pelosi for one, I'm sure there's more, she prefers to use the Air Force to shuttle her from Washington DC to San Fransisco every week in a small commuter jet rather than use a commercial airline. That should be prohibited but so should a lot of things that politicians do. Since when did the Air Force become a taxi service to member of the House for personal use? In the big picture, it's a relatively small amount of money being wasted, but it adds up. Anyways, I'm done babbling. I thought I'd tell ya I enjoyed reading all 3 of your comments. You have yourself a safe New Years.

[@mynameismyname8366]

Mike thank you for your comment and going into more detail with personal experience. I have experienced the same thing you described with spending, but in a non-military role. Have yourself a safe New Years as well.

[@JuanMartinez-hu6jk]

Sad. From the onset, after hearing about this tragedy, it’s very disheartening to know , the Marine Corps upper brass pointed blame elsewhere. Nothing changes, only the wording in their new training procedures.

[@gamefeast6754]

It’s so heartbreaking

[@Ovokor]

I am a hobby researcher and one of the things i learned is that wars are won and lost based on which side is least incompetent. "we have ten aircraft carriers so nobody would dare mess with us." You mean we have two operational aircraft carriers that can actually fight and we are going to pretend that the others are useful and be shocked when they are not. Do not be complacent by over relying on technology, its there to increase your effectiveness not replace your skills. Any Infantry company that is not getting trigger time (even dry firing your service weapons counts at trigger time) and squad tactics training weekly is not combat ready.

[@JoelWelter]

Dang. I deployed many times with this squadron years ago. I didn't know it was their a/c that was involved. RIP to all the crew who were lost.

[@nbase41]

Semper Fi Brothers

[@94Whiskey]

Just heart breaking ...i love my Corps but when it breaks down & fails, it's usually leadership screws up & paid in blood & careers by others....

[@TheDustysix]

Brings back bad memories for me from 1980. Semper Fi.

[@jkugler1776]

Dear future recruits, join the Air Force.

[@DanielRodriguez-ps9fq]

I went thru the U.S. Navy Helicopter Rescue Swimmer School at Pensacola FL back in 1989 I was one of 6 USCG Aviation Survival Man trainees but there were also many Navy and Marine Corps trainees. The Marines have SAR Swimmers so I wonder why the Marine Air Squadron didn't send their SAR Swimmers aboard a Chinook or a Super Stallion helicopters...No one likes to find deceased persons just floating there, the goal is to do what it takes to bring them back alive. As for the good old boys club at senior command, they never admit to wrongdoing even as it results in a lack of military readiness and lost lives due to faulty equipment and gross negligence in lacking proper training of the troops. In my eyes, those aircrews are fallen heroes, our nation should be grateful for their service...SEMPER FIDELIS. I am sad for the pain their loved ones feel every day of their lives hopefully time and love might ease it away amen...

[@VegetaAndTrunksSSJ4]

still miss you ross, hope youre still flying high out there

[@LaggyWizard]

The squadron knowing the safety issues of the beacon, buying secondary equipment that wasnt mandatory by regs. To help in this exact situation gets told they're not allowed to use them. These guys look like they tried everything they could to stay mission ready. I've seen it first hand in the navy. Squadrons undermanned , its impossible to keep a fleet of jets mission capable.

[@paulalexander2928]

Having been in the military Its amazing the lengths they will go and the obscure vacuous arguments they will use to get themselves absolved of blame when tragic occurrences of this type happen and fine young men and women's careers or lives are sacrificed for the good of an unearned reputation and respect that they further sully and denigrate by deflecting well deserved criticism .

[@coltonjagger5602]

Served with this squadron for two years as an avionic technician. I remember when this happened, I was already at a different squadron by then back in the states. Very sad and scary to hear about losing pilots. The workload for us maintainers is unreal, stress and pressure to get those aircraft flyable always in our faces. Especially at 242, working weekends was a common situation and moral usually at an all time low. I can't imagine how scared every marine including pilots/wizo and aircrew aboard the c130 were. God bless them and their families. Till valhalla brothers.

[@Alex-xq4on]

I live on base in Iwakuni and we all heard about this.

[@bikebrains]

This video should be required viewing for all prospective recruits. This video should be added to a playlist of videos to be seen by all prospective recruits beginning with a video explaining the definition of FUBAR. I would suggest making a movie about this event but I doubt that the Corps would cooperate.

[@MoonBeamLaser]

Damn, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

[@milk3275]

Murphy's Law

[@T.Y.B.o.d.]

My dad use to be in the 242 Bats. We were in Japan at the base when this happened. The Bats didn’t fail though.

[@AussieBloke]

Hell I’ve seen video of marine fast jets on deployment pissing fuel on the tarmac and they have just been patched up with essentially builders bog

[@pikminlord343]

Another great video

[@jcgamer892]

the Sad part in all this....this isn't just limited to the Marine Corp.

[@JayStClair-mh5wv]

Great reporting! New subscriber here. Keep up the excellent work and look forward to the next topic.

[@davecruzen9352]

Truly a sad indictment of The Corps blindfold way of operation. It's cheaper to blame everyone else for incompetence than to fess up and admit YOU, the brass, are the real problem. Never acknowledge there is a problem until you are caught with your pants down. It's the other guys fault. Seems like The Corps gets recalled equipment but make it function like top of the line. I have great empathy for the those victimized by the arrogant powers that be. Their day if reckoning will happen.

[@bobclapp125]

That’s all branch’s, tell me the last time a General was relieved of command for gross negligence.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

ACTUALLY, dismissals are frequent. The commander of the 7th Fleet was fired for two ship collisions under his command.

[@Kharmazov]

Reminds me the latest string of tragedies we had in Polish Air Force with Mig-29 including the case where the pilot lost his live.

[@T.Y.B.o.d.]

My dad took control of the Bats after this happened. He was the XO.

[@matk4731]

What a tragedy. Lest We Forget.

[@UCBlinds]

A great investigative and informative video.

[@jimbernard71]

This is 110% UNSAT!!! Young Marines with heart need to push Bad leadership out ASAP as seen... What a fighting force... SEMPER FI

[@walter-yn9bi]

Great video, such a horrible event Shame that the superiors who were responsible never got reprimanded and the blame was shifted unfairly.

[@kranzonguam]

Thank you for what you're doing! Please keep shining light on these dark places in our society!

[@mrsincere09]

The upper chain who blamed everyone else rather than man up and take responsibility should be assigned embassy guard duty somewhere in the middle east along with killary.

[@wcresponder]

What ever happened to the creed, the values, and the motto? Pathetic corps....you have failed. The witch hunt panel needs to be stripped of rank. The commander in chief should be ashamed this happen on his watch.

[@wcresponder]

@bishopob He's in charge of all armed forces. He's the boss, he's ultimately responsible. It's a shame you don't understand this.

[@wcresponder]

@bishopob And as their boss he can tell them what to do. If the prez says you're fired you are fired. it's been blatantly clear. try taking a deeep breath oxygen is good for the brain.

[@slthbob]

@@wcresponder yea the CEO of the corporation is responsible for the actions of a factory manager in one of the 10000 factories his company owns... perspective little childmind... scream orange man bad somewhere else

[@wcresponder]

@@slthbob Now you're getting it , dim one.

[@wcresponder]

@bishopob yadda yadda yadda...the prez still has final word. I agree he doesn't know of all the dealings but if he hears something wants something done it gets done. You think everyone is american. Ha That system is slighty better than a dictatorship two parties. The best that country could come up with was hillary and trump. hahahaha

[@godblessamericaford8686]

Wow great reporting!!!

[@cra139]

The Marines are flying older model F18s the Navy gave to them a flew decades ago. Luckily they're transitioning to the F35 soon.

[@BeltFedSelfDefense]

@William Signs Oh, they have already. Look up how they sometimes just start on fire.

[@MrNedsaabdickerson]

And that is why I got out of the old USMC, higher ups are always looking for escape goats.

[@takaogibson845]

I remember going to security gate for VMGR-152. The Marines stopped me and told me I couldn't leave. I told them I have to work. So trying to figure out WTH is going on. I saw the post on FB. It shocked me. The CO briefed all of us in the the hanger bay later that morning. RIP. SEMPER FI.

[@dracticarchive]

You could just title this video "How The Marine Corps Failed ______" and you could fill in the blank lmao, the branch really needs a re look at their budget and a lot of things on their side could be fixed because it's not the personnel it's what they're given.

[@CHEESYHEAD684]

I thought that was No-Ho Hank at the start

[@idbs1984]

please keep doing what you do. we need you to be our champion and voice

[@mindelo23]

And then they wonder why people don't want to enlist.

[@jameselpers2967]

Back around 1990 we had a bird over torque instead of just taking off and go around the pilots tried go for a full stop after reaching V2,. An older KC-130 F model with older style brakes, well they ran off the end of the runway and into the bay then t-handling the props (not good). Anyway they blame to see if it maintenances fault at first then blamed the engineer for improper commands. Result was bird being stricken is now a reef off the NC coast.

[@windwalker3081]

Damn to think that I witnessed this incident first hand and even shook the hands of the pilots and crew members hand before take off is crazy. Seeing it on KZbin is even crazier. Rest In Peace SUMO 41

[@jwenting]

Reduction of flight hours in order to cut cost has been a constant since the early 1990s. Pilots of other NATO forces for years now have been renting light aircraft using their own money to not fall below the legal limit for private pilots, 20 hours per year, because they're not allowed enough flying time on the job. Dutch F-16 pilots (except those doing combat duty over Syria) are now down to below 1 hour a month, some getting even less than that.

[@xvsj-s2x]

A typical SNFU very preventable very tragic 🇺🇸

[@brucenadeau1280]

It I still a failure of squadron commander for not making sure air sea rescue Is alerted

[@randalldunkley1042]

During my tour in Okinawa with the USMC during the war in Vietnam we were tasked with repairing vehicles returned from the country. You could get big parts but little things were difficult. The vehicles themselves were often cannibalized to the extent we had to make copper washers from US pennies for the brake systems on the M-422 Jeep like car. Rework wiring harnesses by cutting up old harnesses for parts. The "bean counters" are always in control.

[@marine09666]

After reading this story I just don't understand where our tax dollars go. We have increased the military budget dramatically in the last couple of years. Yet there's no money to make sure one of our front line combat-ready squadrons can have the minimum number of pilots, mechanics, spare parts and to timely replace known faulty equipment? Where exactly is the money going?

[@mynameismyname8366]

I was thinking the exact same thing. The real cost of the annual defense budget is over 1 trillion dollars. Either the money is going elsewhere, being wasted, or military and government leadership is so stagnant and corrupt that they can’t or won’t do their jobs properly because they simply don’t have to in order to look good to their superiors. Defense budgeting is so imprecise and lazily done that money is often spent simply for the fact that it was allocated and has to be spent. The Afghanistan report was proof of this, and many people working in the defense industry will verify this. America is the largest and most bloated bureaucracy the world has ever seen, and cannot survive like this

[@wcresponder]

Gotta pay dem generals salaries.

[@jondoe6663]

That's the thing though, the Pacific theater is not front line

[@Sickomindo]

@Jason Denney then lets stop letting them getting us to fight among ourselves between conservative vs lib bla bla bla we all mostly agree on the important things but we let them throw sand in our eyes

[@nathandove4565]

The F18s that the marine corps flys are outdated, broken down hand me downs. The cost to manufacturer slot of parts is higher than the government is willing to pay. So we had to scrounge around to get what was needed. Waiting on parts is why alot of squadrons flight times are down and readiness is lacking. They want to keep the aircraft but not foot the bill to do so safely.