While tributes helped the families of two Camp Pendleton Marines killed during training exercises process their grief, they remain unclear about what caused the fatalities. They expected their sons eventually would deploy and put their lives at risk, but they didn’t expect either would die while training on base.

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Members of III Marine Expeditionary Force tested their combat lifesaving skills during a simulation in a room staged to look like a market somewhere in the Middle East.

Gen. David H. Berger became the 38th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps during a passage of command ceremony Thursday morning in Washington, D.C.

Veterans' Stories

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton has played a major role in military history over the past 77 years, and John Farritor is one of the rare men who has seen that history unfold from the start.

A platoon from the Okinawa-based 12th Marine Regiment brought three High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems launchers to Australia for the monthlong, biennial drills involving 34,000 U.S. and Australian troops.

A federal judge in the criminal case against Rep. Duncan Hunter ruled in an order filed Tuesday that a campaign-funded trip Hunter’s family took to Italy was not legally protected legislative activity, and neither were efforts to control political damage from a probe into his campaign spending.

The selective reenlistment bonuses for fiscal year 2020 include incentives for aviation maintenance, air traffic controllers, infantry squad leaders and Marines willing to make a lateral move to select specialties such as intelligence and cyberdefense.

Lance Cpls. Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero, based in Camp Pendleton, were arraigned Monday in federal court on charges of transporting undocumented immigrants "for financial gain."

Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hermesmann will lead a mission that involves everything from countering Russia in the High North to improving the combat skills of allies involved in counterterrorism fights in Africa.

The Marine Corps is making good on a 2011 promise to send 2,500 Marines annually to Australia as part of a strengthened alliance in the face of Chinese expansionism, with over 1,000 Marines and 17 aircraft from Hawaii in the mix.

An estimated 3,000 motorcycles, with 4,500 riders from around the country, took part in the Ride for the Fallen 7 on Saturday.

Veterans' Strories

The 37-year physical trainer and Marine veteran from Islip, N.Y., is one of 30 competitors entered in the 100-mile Cry Me A River Trail Run this weekend.

Lance Cpl. Kahsai Tyree Hill has been in Japanese police custody since he was arrested on suspicion of punching a taxi driver in the face after not paying a $7.40 fare and then assaulting others while fleeing the scene in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, according to local media reports.

Col. Daniel Wilson, was sentenced in 2017 to 66 months, or more than five years, behind bars and a dismissal — the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge — after he was convicted of sexual abuse of a child.

The Marine Corps recently found that pairing scout snipers, well-known for their stealth and deadly aim, with electronics wizards from a little-known and secretive discipline doesn’t mean sacrificing the ability to sneak around the battlefield. It may even enhance it.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called on the U.S. this week to free Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko from prison in exchange for Americans it is holding. Ryabkov stopped short of saying Russia would be willing to release Paul Whelan.

The Marine Corps is offering some of its aviators bonuses of up to $280,000 to remain in the service as the service looks to improve pilot retention, an issue the military has struggled with in recent years.

Camp Lejeune is warning base personnel of a potential threat to human safety after staff captured two exotic snakes roaming the Marine Corps base, which is dense with pine forests, underbrush and alligator-infested swamps.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed the 2017 court-martial of Gunnery Sgt. Joseph A. Felix Jr. and affirmed his conviction and sentence.

Col. William Blanchard was relieved of command by Brig. Gen. William Bowers, commander of the Marine Corps Education Command, on June 19 “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” according to a statement.

For 36-years Jo-Ann and Edward Corr shared their love together after they were married. On June 21, while riding on a motorcycle in New Hampshire, they spent their last moment together.

A man who authorities say shot a Marine to death outside a strip club in San Bernardino in 2016 before fleeing to Mexico was convicted of murder Tuesday, June 25.

The cause of a collision between KC-130J tanker and an F/A-18 Hornet is still under investigation.

Cpl. Reuben Chebon Mwei, originally assigned to 2nd Maintenance Battalion, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was convicted of murder and false imprisonment Monday.

Thousands of sailors and Marines sailed into 5th Fleet waters Monday as an amphibious assault group led by the USS Boxer deployed to the region, where tensions are flaring between the U.S. and Iran.

A ceremony, held on the anniversary of the day fighting ended on Okinawa in 1945, served as a tribute to the thousands of American servicemembers, Japanese troops and Okinawan noncombatants who lost their lives. At some points, protestors shouted their opposition to the continued U.S. military presence on the island.

A teen who fatally stabbed a Kaneohe Bay Marine during an attack by 15 youths in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, 2017, in Waikiki pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter Friday and will serve no more than 20 years in prison.

Lt. Col. Nathaniel “Lips” Baker, commander of Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, was relieved of his duties “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to continue to serve in that position,” according to the Marine Corps.

Brig. Gen. Norman Cooling was the focus of a inspector general's investigation after the Senate Armed Services Committee complained about his behavior in February 2018. In a letter to investigators, Cooling challenged their findings, writing that "aggressive leadership is incorrectly deemed by the investigator to be negative.

No charges have been publicly announced more than nine weeks after Marine Cpl. Tyler Wallingford, 21, was shot and killed in a barracks at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.

The unnamed gunnery sergeant stole the vehicle from a convenience store parking lot in Iwakuni city after the driver, who works on base, left her keys in the ignition.

The unidentified Marines, both in their 20s, were seated in a parked Humvee alongside the two-lane expressway when a 2-ton truck struck them from behind.

After more than 100 surgeries, including the last just weeks ago to finally repair wounds on his haunches, retired U.S. Marine Cpl. Clark Cavalier is this year's honoree for the Faces of Valor foundation.

In high-level talks in Mogadishu on Tuesday, U.S. Africa Command’s Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser and U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Donald Yamamoto discussed how to keep momentum “moving forward” in the Horn of Africa country, which has been in disarray for more than 20 years.

The Marine Corps began investigating Lance Cpl. Mason Edward Mead after media reports in February alleged he had tweeted racist and pro-Nazi messages.

The number and identity of those recovered is not yet known, officials said. Five crew members of a KC-130J tanker and the pilot of an F/A-18 Hornet were killed in a December collision.

Lance Cpl. Matthew Emett Duggan of Camp Courtney was arrested at 1:10 a.m. Sunday at a ramen stand in Chatan, police said.

An elite Marine Raider was sentenced Friday to spend four years in a military prison after admitting his role in the strangulation death of a Green Beret, a fellow special operator he described as a friend.

The arrest came after a chase that Japanese police said involved reckless driving.

Complaints by residents around the base also increased, according to a letter delivered Thursday to the Japan Ministry of Defense, specifically on days before and after field carrier landing practice.

Marine Raider Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell Jr., one of four special operators charged in the 2017 strangling death of a Green Beret in Africa, pleaded guilty Thursday to negligent homicide, admitting his role in a plot to embarrass the soldier.

Four elite U.S. Special Operations troops charged in the death of a Green Beret soldier in Mali plotted to record him being sexually assaulted as part of a plan to embarrass him through hazing, according to one of the accused service members.

The 6-by-8-inch black rubber object was identified as blade tape, according to a III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman.

Motor transportation Marines took to the jungle recently to refine their combat driving abilities and get acquainted with their surroundings during an Advanced Motor Vehicle Operations Course.

A Marine Raider charged in the 2017 hazing death of a Green Beret in Africa will plead guilty Thursday to negligent homicide and other charges for his role in a “stupid prank that went horribly wrong,” his defense attorney said.

Police in Prince William County, Va., sent an alert Monday to residents near Marine Corps Base Quantico that for the next nine days, Marines will be engaged in live-fire training exercises that might produce unusual sights, sounds and even vibrations.

Lt. Gen. Eric Smith left a stern warning for America’s potential adversaries in the Indo-Pacific region: do not test the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki's letter also stated that the U.S. is capable of handling issues involving China and North Korea with only its Navy and Air Force, again asserting his position that Marine air operations should be moved off Okinawa altogether.

Bryant Scott was a fit 28-year-old aiming for a long Marine Corps career when his plans were derailed by severe exertional heatstroke. Incidents of heatstroke and heat exhaustion have increased steadily among servicemembers in recent years, though some experts say the numbers still might be grossly underreported.

Lance Cpl. Kahsai Hill, 21, was taken into custody Saturday by Tokyo Metropolitan Police on suspicion of robbery resulting in bodily injury after he allegedly punched a taxi driver in the face after not paying his approximately $7.40 fare, according to Kyodo News agency.

Lance Cpl. Hans Sandoval-Pereyra, 21, of Fairfax, Va., died Tuesday from injuries sustained in an accident while training at Mount Bundey Training Area in Australia’s Northern Territory, according to a III Marine Expeditionary Force statement.

Kathleen Isabel Rose Bourque and Marine 1st Lt. Hugh Conor McDowell were supposed to be planning their wedding. Instead, this Memorial Day weekend, she will be at his funeral.

The memory of Marvin Nothstein survives in a sheaf of letters, a couple of Christmas cards, a handful of photos. They tell the story of a reluctant but dutiful Marine, drafted into the Korean War and longing, as the days wore on, for little more than a decent pair of socks and a ticket home.

The pilot had reported hydraulic problems with the single-engine Fighting Falcon before bailing. The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, planned to return to the March Air Reserve Base on the other side of the freeway, but was instead forced to eject from the aircraft.

Some 2,600 Navy sailors, Marines and members of the Coast Guard cruised into New York City on more than a dozen vessels Wednesday for the 31st annual Fleet Week — one of the largest in the nation.

Sikorsky will build 12 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters as part of a $1.1 billion U.S. Navy contract and among 200 aircraft for the Marine Corps. The Stratford-based unit of defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. will begin deliveries in 2022 and also provide spare parts and logistical support.

A Pennsylvania nonprofit dedicated to educating Americans about citizenship and community service has fulfilled a family’s wishes and shipped a Marine hero’s Medal of Honor home for display.

Ellen Lord, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, said in a statement that she "has more confidence" in the program designated CH-53K and that she supported a $1.3 billion contract for 12 more production-model helicopters that was awarded on Friday.

A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier crashed Monday evening in Craven County, N.C., according to media reports citing Marine and Defense Department officials.

Sikorsky Aircraft said it will begin deliveries of the 12 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters in 2022, and also provide spare parts and logistical support.

When Marine Corps 1st Lt. Conor McDowell died earlier this month in a training exercise at Camp Pendleton, he left behind family full of memories of the young man that had wanted to be a Marine since childhood.

Seventy-five years ago, on May 21, 1944, a massive chain of explosions aboard ships berthed at West Loch in Pearl Harbor left hundreds of servicemembers and civilian workers dead or injured.

An F-16 military fighter jet was armed before it crashed into a Riverside County commercial building, officials said Friday, and the unexploded weaponry has since been detonated.

Cavalrymen at an exercise fought in their Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles alongside Finnish Leopard 2 main battle tanks, against Marine M1A1 Abrams tanks and LAV-25 light armored vehicles.

A safety investigation and a complete damage assessment are ongoing after a bird strike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.

The transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Guam could begin as early as October 2024 and take 18 months to complete, according to a report by Japan’s Kyodo News service that cites a Marine Corps official on the U.S. Pacific island territory.

The Marine Corps punished at least eight drill instructors and some officers in response to allegations of hazing and other abuses last year at the service's recruit training center at Parris Island, South Carolina, according to Marine officials and documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The most senior enlisted Marine in mortuary affairs provides insight into the work done by his unit, the Personnel Retrieval and Processing Company, the only one of its kind in the Marine Corps.

The crash of a Marine Corps F-35 that temporarily grounded the entire fleet of next-generation jets in 2018 was caused by a manufacturing defect in a fuel tube made by a United Technologies subcontractor, according to congressional investigators.

The battle scene was more than just a shock for Navy Chaplain Robert Hess. The pain and suffering, death, blood and horror overwhelmed him. Luckily there were others around with more experience.

First Lt. Hugh C. McDowell from Washington, D.C., died Thursday morning after being injured in a rollover accident involving a light armored vehicle during training at Camp Pendleton.

A military veteran in Minnesota whose request for a passport was denied twice is now asking a federal court to intervene and declare that he is a U.S. citizen, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The Marine, whose name has not been released, died when a light armored vehicle rolled over during training about 9 a.m. Officials are investigating the circumstances of the accident.

Lt. Col. Francisco Zavala was removed from his command of Camp Pendleton’s 1st Reconnaissance Battalion after Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi “lost trust and confidence in the commanding officer’s ability to lead.”

James Mellick’s “Wounded Warrior Dogs,” a series of sculptures that captured the 2016 ArtPrize public vote, will soon be on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Triangle, Virginia.

The trip covered 5,300 nautical miles and required refueling from KC-130J Hercules aerial tankers. The Osprey crews also made “minimal, scheduled stops to refuel and rest.”

Brendan Bialy was one of several students who subdued one of two shooters who entered STEM School Highlands Ranch in a southern suburb of Denver, Colo., his father and a family attorney have confirmed.

“We have lost-in-translation moments more than you would realize,” Australian Air Force Group Capt. Stewart Dowrie told the country’s 10 Daily last week. “The time to figure that out is not on the battlefield when the bullets are flying.”

A U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville drowned Saturday afternoon off Emerald Isle, the fourth death reported in two weeks off North Carolina’s popular beaches.

The Pentagon is assessing whether Boeing's heavy-lift helicopter for the Army, the CH-47 Chinook, could replace Lockheed Martin's troubled King Stallion chopper for some or all Marine Corps missions, according to officials.

There’s been a steady build-up of Marines in Darwin, Australia, since 2012. Australia’s northernmost large city is close to a region that’s of increasing strategic importance to military planners.

The largest air show in Japan features long lines of people climbing into cockpits for views usually reserved for the pilots of U.S. military and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aircraft.

Donald W. Kaltschmidt Jr. sued Laron D. Shannon, Elizabeth Shannon and Oilfield Warriors, LLC, in 2014, alleging Laron Shannon had misrepresented himself as an active U.S. Marine when he “never actively served in the United States Marine Corps or in any other military service branch,” according to the lawsuit complaint.

The private is the second Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort servicemember shot and killed in three weeks.

Pfc. Timothy Irvin was acquitted last month of killing his wife, Glynis Shermaine “Necii” Irvin, 19, who died at the couple’s Okinawa home on Aug. 31, 2015. Prosecutors alleged Irvin had placed a hand over his wife’s nose and mouth, preventing her from breathing.

The Navy has a child care waitlist of about 7,800 families, with about 68% in heavily populated installations in areas such as San Diego, Hawaii, the District of Columbia metropolitan area, and Norfolk, Virginia.

Adm. Bill Moran, President Donald Trump’s selection for the next chief of naval operations, said he supported the plan unveiled in the service’s fiscal year 2020 budget request to forgo a $3.5 billion midlife overhaul of the USS Truman scheduled for 2024.

Sgt. Austin Cox and former Sgt. Michael Vura were awarded Navy and Marine Corps Medals for exceptional bravery and selfless actions in saving lives and preventing serious bodily harm of others around them during the largest mass shooting in modern American history.

Lawmakers returned to Congress this week to face the Marine Corps, which needs additional funding immediately, and the Air Force, which declared no new construction projects at Tyndall Air Force Base will happen without supplemental funding.

In 2018, there were 578 diagnoses of heatstroke and 2,214 diagnoses of heat exhaustion among active duty servicemembers, according to the Defense Health Agency’s April surveillance report.

The 7-ton truck the Marines were driving struck a wall, crashed through a median and rolled down a 30-foot embankment, according to the Okinawa Times newspaper.

Lt. Col. James Compton was removed April 22 by Maj. Gen. Thomas Weidley, commander of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, due to a “loss of trust and confidence,” according to a statement from the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

Gallery

Christopher Slutman, a Marine staff sergeant and 15-year veteran of the FDNY, was one of three Americans killed earlier this month when their convoy hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Major Troy E. Black will replace Sgt. Maj. Ronald L. Green, who has served in the Marine Corps for 35 years and will retire later this year.

The Pentagon needs to undertake another review of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s $31 billion CH-53K heavy lift helicopter program amid continuing technical problems and delays, according to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.