We're Back From San Diego

We're back and I'm busy playing catch up (1,089 emails). We had a wonderful trip to San Diego and watched Jordan graduate from his Marine specialty school. He graduated first in his class of 38 diesel mechanics. I have a video of him accepting his award as the "Honor Graduate" and if I can find some time later, I'll get it posted for anyone who is interested. He's now stationed in San Diego, but from the sound of the graduation speech by his commanding officer, deployment is guaranteed.

Also, you may remember a few months ago, I posted that Sergeant Rice drowned during their first training exercise with the Amphibious Assault vehicles. While we were in San Diego, the military made public the official findings of the accident investigation. Eight officers, including the battalion commander, were fired for insufficient supervision. Two deadly mechanical problems were found on the vehicle. It's still heavy on my heart when I see pictures of Sergeant Rice with his wife and baby. Jordan drove that exact vehicle just an hour before it went down, and he was on the beach when it sank. Link to report.

“The inquiry determined a number of factors contributed to the tragedy,” officials said in a statement. “These factors included a mechanical failure on the vehicle, nonstandard training and operating procedures, and ultimately a lack of sufficient oversight within” AAS Battalion.