Military commanders who oversaw a training exercise in which nine service members died were burnt out by the pandemic, and overwhelmed by the prospect of war with Iran and Donald Trump's militarization of the southern border, according to a new report.
Eight Marines and one sailor, aged 18-23, died on July 30, 2020, when their amphibious vehicle sank off the coast of California.
The armored ship-to-shore transport craft took on water and sank off the coast of San Clemente Island, while returning to the USS Somerset.
On Wednesday the results of two investigations into the accident - one from the Marines, one from the Navy - were published.
While not excusing failures in leadership, they found that the commanders were stressed out and struggling to deal with many competing demands.
The body of Pfc Bryan J. Baltierra (left), 19, of Corona, California, was flown to Delaware. Found at the scene was Lance Cpl Guillermo S. Perez (right), 20, of New Braunfels Texas. His body was flown to the Dover base on August 5
Other victims include Lance Cpl Marco A. Barranco (left), 21, of Montebello, California, and Pfc Jack Ryan Ostrovsky (right), 21, of Bend, Oregon
An amphibious vehicle like the one pictured sank in July 2020, killing eight Marines and one sailor. There are about 800 AAV's in the Marine inventory that can carry up to 21 people and each weighs 26 tons
The amphibious vehicle was returning to the USS Somerset (pictured) when it sank in July 2020
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.
Lt. Gen. Carl Mundy III led the investigation for the Marines, and reported that many of the commanders expressed concern at the weighty and competing demands on their time when the tragedy struck
'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.'
Pfc Evan A. Bath, 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was killed during the accident last year
US Navy Hospitalman Christopher Gnem, 22, of Stockton, California, was one of the victims. Gnem was posthumously advanced to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class and awarded his enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist qualification
Other victims include: Lance Cpl Chase D. Sweetwood (center), 19, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Cpl Wesley A. Rodd (left), 23, of Harris, Texas, and Cpl Cesar A. Villanueva (right), 21, of Riverside, California
Marine Corps investigators found in March that the deaths were
