Marine official is suspended

Inspector general is disciplined amid probe into fatal sinking of an amphibious vehicle.

SAN DIEGO — The Marine Corps inspector general, Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi, has been suspended amid an ongoing probe into last summer’s fatal sinking of an assault amphibious vehicle off the coast of San Diego.

Castellvi becomes the highest-ranking officer to face discipline in the ongoing investigations into the disaster, which left nine service members dead. His suspension was announced by the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps in a hearing before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness on Monday.

Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, a Marine spokesman said.

Castellvi was the commanding general of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division until September. He was named in a previous investigation as someone who has some responsibility in the accident, but the Marines did not punish him.

The commanding officers of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Battalion Landing Team involved in the accident were both relieved of command and seven other Marines faced other administrative or disciplinary actions, the Marines said.

That investigation, which was released last month, was focused on the July 30 incident. A separate investigation is underway looking at the formation of the 15th MEU. The Marines’ first investigation found that the vehicles the battalion landing team brought to the MEU were in poor condition and that Marines did not receive required training that might have helped them escape a sinking vehicle.

The Marines of the landing team were training near San Clemente Island with the Marine Expeditionary Unit ahead of its planned deployment. On the morning of July 30, 13 assault amphibious vehicles left the well deck of the amphibious transport dock Somerset to train on the island, about three miles away.

Mechanical issues affected the training mission before it began — one AAV had to stay behind on Somerset due to maintenance problems, according to the Marine Corps’ first investigation.

Problems continued on the island. The Marines were supposed to return to the ship at noon but were delayed when one vehicle broke down. At 5 p.m., nine of the vehicles began the slow cruise back to the Somerset.

It wasn’t long before two of those began having issues and returned to the island. The doomed AAV continued toward the ship.

A cascade of mechanical and human failures contributed to the deaths of the eight Marines and one sailor, the Marines found.