Second Marine officer fired after investigation into deadly sinking of assault vehicle

The Marine Corps on Tuesday fired a commander after an investigation into last year’s deadly sinking of an amphibious assault vehicle off the Southern California coast.

Col. Christopher Bronzi was relieved of command of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit by Marine Corps Forces, Pacific head Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” according to a Marine Corps statement.

USNI News was the first to report on the move.

Bronzi, who had been head of the unit since November 2019, is the second commanding officer to be fired after the fatal July 30 training accident. Eight Marines and one Navy sailor were killed when their vehicle quickly sank in 385 feet of water off the coast of San Clemente Island. 

The vehicle — which can weigh roughly 26 tons and can carry up to 21 people — sank after it began to take on water while returning to a Navy ship after a training exercise. 

Of the 16 men on board at the time, eight were able to escape before the vehicle sank. Two of the men who escaped were injured and one was pronounced dead at the scene.

The service members’ remains were recovered a week later.

Lt. Col. Michael Regner, commanding officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment was relieved in October in a result stemming from the accident.

The cause of the sinking has yet to be revealed.

Col. Fridrik Fridriksson will take over command of the 15th MEU, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and currently deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, according to the Marine Corps statement.