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An amphibious assault vehicle returning to Camp Pendleton following a training exercise sank on July 30, killing eight Marines and one sailor on board.
Two Special Operations soldiers were killed Aug. 29 when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise off California’s southern coast.
Just last week, a Fort Bliss soldier was killed in a military vehicle collision during a training exercise.
These are just three of this year’s military training accidents. So far this fiscal year alone, the Army has reported 82 accident-related fatalities. Across the Department of Defense, from 2006 to 2020, 5,605 service members were killed in training accidents. This represents 32% of all reported active-duty military deaths for that time period and is double the percentage of troops killed in action.
In short, troops have died in training accidents at twice the rate that they have died in combat over the last decade and a half. More service members have died in training accidents than in combat every year since 2015.
Two Special Operations soldiers were killed Aug. 29 when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise off California’s southern coast.
Just last week, a Fort Bliss soldier was killed in a military vehicle collision during a training exercise.
These are just three of this year’s military training accidents. So far this fiscal year alone, the Army has reported 82 accident-related fatalities. Across the Department of Defense, from 2006 to 2020, 5,605 service members were killed in training accidents. This represents 32% of all reported active-duty military deaths for that time period and is double the percentage of troops killed in action.
In short, troops have died in training accidents at twice the rate that they have died in combat over the last decade and a half. More service members have died in training accidents than in combat every year since 2015.
possible talking points:
"it's because major combat operations ended" (downplayed because . . .)
versus
"wah, end the endless wars" (up played because . . .)
and yet reality proves everyone, at their fundamental value levels . . . wrong
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