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A father's mission to make military training vehicles safer

U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Conor McDowell was killed during a training exercise at Camp Pendleton in 2019. His family is getting answers from Congress.

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A father is on an important mission to bring justice to the death of his U.S. Marine Corp son and others during military training exercises.

On May, 9, 2019, 1st Lt. Conor McDowell, 24, was killed when the 80-ton Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) he was in hit a hidden ditch and rolled over during a training exercise at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Six others were injured.

“He was a leader, he was loved, he was kind and very smart and a warrior,” said Michael McDowell, Conor’s father.

After his death, Conor’s mother, Susan Flanigan and father, Michael McDowell, who is a retired BBC journalist researched U.S. Army and USMC training accidents. They say they found several training accidents leading to death and/or injury. Incidents at Camp Pendleton were included.

“I saw much more of a systemic problem in the Army and Marine Corps going back years for the vehicles,” said McDowell.

Conor’s fiancé, Kathleen Bourque, shared his journal entries that detailed his concerns about recent rollover accidents.

“'This is a reminder that at any moment through careless action even in training Marines can die,'” said Bourque.

The family and Bourque pressed Congress to investigate. A Congressional Research Service report shows between 2006 and 2021, the percentage of servicemembers killed during training accidents (31.8%) is double the number of those killed in action (14.7%). Approximately 15% involved vehicles.

“More kids are dying in training than in battle,” said McDowell.

Last week the Government Affairs Office (GAO) released a key study that found the Army and Marine Corps should take additional actions to mitigate and prevent training accidents.

McDowell said it needs to go further and hold high ranking officials accountable.

In July 2020, an Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAV) sank off the coast of San Clemente and killed eight Marines and one U.S. Navy sailor.

Major General Robert Castellvi was the commanding general of the 1st Marine Division which oversaw the readiness unit.

He was promoted to USMC Inspector General after the deadly accident but before the investigation was complete.

He was also the commanding general over McDowell’s unit.

The late Marine’s father said more needs to be done to hold higher ranking officials accountable.

“That is not leadership, that is unacceptable absolutely unacceptable,” said McDowell.

The general has since been demoted and disciplined. Conor’s family said this fight gives meaning to their grief of losing Conor and so many other American heroes.

“We are not out for revenge, we are out for justice,” said McDowell. “I don’t approach this with hate or anger I approach this with passion for trying to make things better for the Marine Corps and Army which I believe they are our heroes.”

A spokesperson for Camp Pendleton e-mailed News 8 a statement that said in 2019 changes to its Road and River report were made to warn military units of hazards to vehicles.

“The key to mishap prevention is a training and education process for military units to ensure they have the knowledge to operate safely and the awareness to identify potential hazards. 

The Camp Pendleton Range Operations Division patrols and monitors ranges and training areas on a daily basis to assess potential risks - to include hazards to tactical vehicles. When hazards are identified, the area is marked or closed, a maintenance action request submitted, and the hazard is highlighted to military units via the Road and River Report. The Road and River Report is a safety document published daily by the Range Operations Division to advise military units of current road and training area conditions. Military units are required to have the report on hand when conducting training.

The following actions were implemented in 2019 to emphasize tactical vehicle hazards to military units:

1. An additional warning was added to the Road and River Report to highlight the potential for tactical vehicle driving hazards within the ranges and training areas. This particular warning included a directive to units to use ground guides to assess areas that have high grass or other factors obscuring visibility.

2. The Range Safety Officer Training Course has been updated to emphasize potential driving hazards. The training course outlines the purpose and utility of the Road and River Report. Trained and certified range safety officers are required to supervise military unit training aboard Camp Pendleton.

3. Changes have been submitted to update the Range and Training Area Standing Operating Procedures to include additional safety warnings related to potential driving hazards. Unit range safety officers are directed to consider all vehicle hazards while planning operations and to conduct a leader’s route reconnaissance prior to training. Additionally, range safety officers are required to thoroughly brief unit personnel of potential hazards prior to training and use ground guides where needed. The Range and Training Area Standing Operating Procedures is the command directive establishing policies and procedures for training activity on the base.

The Range Operations Division is responsible for the execution of the Range Safety Program on Camp Pendleton. They worked closely with the Government Accountability Office to develop the report on tactical vehicle mishaps.

News 8 also reached out to local Congressman Scott Peters office about the GAO report.

“While Mr. Peters no longer serves on the House Armed Services Committee, he remains committed to effective oversight of our military. Every service member deserves to know their uniformed leadership promotes safe, smart, and effective training that ensures their success on the battlefield. Unfortunately, this report raises uncomfortable questions about the quality of supervision, instruction, and leadership needed to mitigate vehicle accidents. The families of those men and women hurt and killed during these training accidents deserve answers, as do all our servicemembers who count on us to do our best to provide the safest environment possible. I look forward to the Department of Defense acting on these recommendations.”

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