The commanding officer of Camp Pendleton’s Assault Amphibian School was relieved from his command following investigation into an October accident with an Amphibious Combat Vehicle offshore the base, Marine Corps officials announced Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Marine officials from the Training and Education Command that oversees the schoolhouse’s training of amphibious Marines said Col. John L. Medeiros was relieved “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command after receiving information obtained during the course of the ongoing investigation.”
Further details related to what led to the decision could not be provided because the investigation into why and how the vehicle flipped has not been concluded, said Capt. Phil Parker, a command spokesperson, though he added that the decision was not due to misconduct or criminal negligence.
The accident occurred off Camp Pendleton on Oct. 13 when the seafaring Amphibious Combat Vehicle, known as an ACV, rolled over in the surf. At the time, Marine officials said the vehicle was doing scheduled training when it had a mechanical malfunction and the three crew members inside were not injured.
The ACVs are rated to carry 13 passengers plus three crew and can travel at 6 knots in the water and up to 14 miles at sea. They are armored and have wheels that allow them to also travel on land. According to reports from the National Weather Service, surf in the area at the time was between 2 feet and 3 feet tall.
The Assault Amphibian School at Camp Pendleton, one of three in the Marine Corps, not only trains Marines on the use of the ACVs, but it also has been assisting in the evaluation of the new amphibious vehicle platform.
The ACV is replacing the Marine Corps’ aging fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicles and officials have said it is considered the future of amphibious warfighting. The troop transport was first launched on the West Coast and put through a pilot run at Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms by units from the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion.
Three others ACVs that were being used by the battalion have also flipped in waves so the vehicles have been limited in their ocean training and can’t go in and out of the surf zone. The vehicles can still be operated in protected waters and in the open ocean going from ship to ship.
Requests to the command to speak to Medeiros for comment went unanswered and he could not be immediately reached independently.
Medeiros, who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and has served at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Okinawa, Japan, was relieved of command by Brig. Gen. Farrell J. Sullivan, commanding general of the training command. Medeiros took command of the school in July 2021.
His personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Gold Star and ‘V’ device, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.
The schoolhouse’s executive officer will replace Medeiros until a new commander is announced.
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