30 U.S. Sailors and Marines Injured in Landing Craft Training Exercise

The U.S. Navy and the Marines are confirming an incident on Wednesday, May 1, in which 30 sailors are Marines were injured. It happened while the units were training approximately 100 miles off the Atlantic Coast near Jacksonville, Florida, and Georgia. Five of the sailors were more severely injured and medically airlifted to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia for treatment.

Few details were provided on the nature of the incident with the spokesperson only confirming that two landing craft air cushion (LCAC) were involved. The vessels are 91-foot-long armed, high-speed hovercrafts. They are used to ferry Marine Air-Ground Task Force assault units from their Navy vessels to shore. Typically, the LCAC has a crew of five and can carry as much as 75 tons of gear, weapons, and troops.

LCAC approaching Warp in 2023 training exercise (U.S. Navy photo)

The units were conducting pre-deployment training. Reports are they were practicing evacuation missions and deployed aboard the USS New York and the USS Wasp. The New York is an Antonio-class amphibious transport dock with a special ramp and typically carries up to two LCACs. The Warp is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship and typically carries up to three LCACs.

Twenty-five of the injured sailors and Marines were treated on their respective ships. However, medical personnel decided to evacuate the other five to shore. The 2nd Fleet and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are reporting that four of the injured individuals were treated and have been released from the hospital. No update was given on the fifth individual.

The Navy and Marines would only say that an investigation is underway into the incident.