0
0
The Marines are thankful that nobody was injured Friday afternoon. One of their helicopters, a CH53-E Super Stallion, went down in a blaze of glory right next to Interstate 5, near “scenic” Oceanside, California. Scuttlebut says that a few mechanics will be doing push-up drills for days.
Marines lose a chopper
Marines at California’s Camp Pendleton are relieved to report that no service members were injured. That’s about the only positive thing they can say about what happened Friday afternoon, December 20.
They can expect Pete Hegseth to be paying them a visit early next year. He’ll want to discuss a number of “readiness” issues the military is plagued with. Soon after his confirmation hearing as Secretary of Defense.
According to the official statement, the CH53-E Super Stallion “experienced an engine fire at 4:11 p.m. Friday, prompting an emergency landing at Camp Pendleton.”
It was blazing as it came crashing to the ground with four marines aboard. While technically it hit an actual “landing area,” it was close enough to a civilian freeway to snarl traffic for a while.
Even though the chopper crashed at Pendleton, it and the crew of marines were based elsewhere. Hegseth will be sure to drop by Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, to have a little chat with the base commander there, when he gets to town.
As the craft cratered in, the crew scrambled to evacuate. There was no possibility of putting out the flames. The chopper “burned for at least an hour.”
Avoid the area
Eventually, local fire crews helped Marine Corps personnel get the blaze extinguished before the flames could spread. The last thing the state needs is another out of control wildfire.
Commuters weren’t happy to hear the marines make an announcement asking “for the public’s patience and cooperation.” Those are never assuring words to hear. “For now, we urge the community to avoid the area to allow emergency responders to do their work safely,” the bulletin added.
This happens to be “the second training mission from the 3rd Aircraft Wing to end in a crash this year.” The marines apparently aren’t as up to the task of defending us from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and the rest as they should be.
Those who have been blaming progressive Democrat policies at the Pentagon are relieved to know that the war room will soon be under new management.
Their crash before this happened back on February 8. That was when a chopper with five marines, “who were also conducting a training mission, died when their helicopter went down in the mountains outside San Diego.” “Two National Guard soldiers died on February 23. while conducting a training mission in Mississippi.”
On March 8, “two soldiers and one Border Patrol agent were killed in a crash near Texas’ southern border.” Also, “Five Army special operations soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea, during a routine air refueling training mission.” Apparently, the marines aren’t the only branch having similar problems.
