2w ago

Shell Detonated Over Interstate 5 During Marines Event, California Officials Say

www.nytimes.com

nytimes.com

A 155-millimeter shell fired during a live-fire demonstration for the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton on Saturday prematurely detonated, dropping fragments of the shell on a California Highway Patrol vehicle and motorcycle that were part of Vice President JD Vance’s protective detail, according to a patrol report.
No officers were hurt in the mishap, which dropped shrapnel onto the vehicles parked on a ramp to a major freeway that had been ordered closed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor had objected to the plan to fire over the freeway, Interstate 5, and ordered a 17-mile stretch closed — against the guidance of military officials, who had said it was safe for it to remain open.
According to the patrol report, one officer described what sounded like pebbles hitting his motorcycle and the area around him, and two others saw a two-inch piece of shrapnel hit the hood of their patrol vehicle, leaving a small dent. The report says shrapnel was also found on the road near the motorcycle.
Mr. Newsom had warned that the Marine Corps’ plans to fire artillery shells over Interstate 5, the West Coast’s main north-south artery, could pose hazards for motorists on the stretch between Los Angeles and San Diego. The closure he ordered on Saturday caused significant backups on the portion of the interstate, which is used by approximately 80,000 people daily.

... ok, I feel like I am taking crazy pills.

Too tired to cut out summarize, here's my written attempt at... comprehending this... :

As part of a big military training excercise / publicity stunt / 'morale booster', Hegseth orders the Marines to fire live artillery rounds from Camp Pendleton on a trajectory that goes over I5, the busiest, main highway in California...

... and one of the shells detonates prematurely, and rains shrapnel down on JD Vance's security detail motorcade, on I5.

After Newsom closed I5 down for safety, after being told that would be unnecessary.

...

Yeah.

Sure.

... why not.

Accident?

Not so subtle 'fuck you' from the Marines, who now have less funding than ICE, whose 250th Anniversary isn't actually until November 10th?

???

Fucking mark this timeline zero, dude, this is over the line.

21 comments

My first thought reading the headline: Was it a boy or a girl?
I guess it was man baby.
- I'm just imagining Vance touching up his guyliner in an armored limo, explosion overhead, shrapnel bouncing off the car, Vance just scowls an actual comic book villain scowl, mumbles derisively.
- It was orange! CalTrans is going to have fun cleaning that up.
I mean, you just don't fly live artillery over a crucial highway. There are a few ways to read how this all played out, so I don't want to rush to a conclusion. This boondoggle should at least distract from Epstein for a cycle or two.
Among the options:
accident
intentional at the SecWar level
intentional at the Marine leadership level
intentional at the middle-management level
intentional at the operations level
some combination of the above
Past the first two, it would be reading tea leaves to infer motivation. But the confusion is no doubt part of the fun for them.
- You forgot the most likely explanation:
  ANTIFA!!
  (Joking aside, what causes this? Is this a common hardware failure, and no big deal? Or is this something caused by human error that people get in trouble for? It honestly doesn't sound like a huge deal, but I know nothing about this stuff.)
  
  As to your serious questions, it really could be either.
  155m shells used timed fuses, so that you can do things like... try to airburst a shell a bit over a target, or, to fire say 3 different shells, at a high arc, medium arc, low arc, all ballistically aimed at the same spot, but different travel times to hit the same target, all explode at about the same time.
  So... those fuses can go bad, malfunction.
  The process of trying to set the time of the fuse can malfunction.
  ... or, one could uh, fat finger that procedure.
  Or not actually make a mistake.
  I don't know if there is... some kind of logging/diagnostic system in the arty spgs, cannons, that 'remembers' what inputs were given to it like an aircraft blackbox, im not sure what actual systems/hardware fired the rounds.
  I've not actually worked an artillery cannon, but I have played probably more milsims than most people, and am a bit of military weapons enthusiast, from an engineering / history appreciation viewpoint.
  I could be somewhat wrong here, but I think that is all roughly accurate.
Deadly weapons are not toys. They are for killing, not for playing with. Anyone who doesn't understand this should not have access to deadly weapons of any kind period. They especially should not be in command of the actual military. Back to kindergarten for anyone on the chain of command who OK'd this.
- I wholly agree, and the craziest amount of firepower I've ever handled is uh ...7mm, 30.06, 30-30 rifles?
  I'm trying to imagine a recreational, long distance firing range for rifles that uh, shoots over/across I5.
  For some reason, I'm having trouble picturing this.
  Hoiiii yeah, yep, this is completely unacceptable, unfortunately, the pertinent question is:
  What is anybody gonna actually do about this?
No officers were hurt in the mishap.
Shame.
- I'm totally on board with ACAB, but I don't think that means they deserve friendly fire shrapnel from a event cobbled together to distract from No Kings.
  
  Alternatively, if Vance was... you know, with his security detail...
  Well, he's not exactly the kind of person that gives a shit about collateral damage, now is he?
Mr. Newsom had warned that the Marine Corps’ plans to fire artillery shells over Interstate 5, the West Coast’s main north-south artery, could pose hazards for motorists on the stretch between Los Angeles and San Diego. The closure he ordered on Saturday caused significant backups on the portion of the interstate, which is used by approximately 80,000 people daily.
Glad we had an adult around to make a sane decision in insane circumstances.

21 comments