30 Sailors and Marines Injured in Training Incident Off Coast of Florida

Thirty sailors and Marines were injured Wednesday evening after an incident involving two landing craft during training off the coast of Florida, the Navy said.

Five sailors were medically evacuated for additional care to a hospital in Georgia, though four of them were released after treatment. One sailor remains in the hospital, according to an emailed statement from the service on Friday.

The Navy did not disclose the nature of the incident or during what specific operation the service members were injured, though it did say that it was a training exercise. Of the more than two dozen troops who were injured, several with minor injuries were treated aboard the USS Wasp and USS New York, which are part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group.

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The incident is under investigation, the service said, though details on the injuries were not disclosed. The mishap involved two landing craft, air cushion, or LCAC, vessels, which transport troops from ship to shore. The service members who were transported to Georgia were admitted to Savannah's Memorial Health University Medical Center.

The Marines aboard the vessels are part of the Corps' 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU. That MEU is part of the Wasp ARG, which includes three ships: the Wasp, the New York and the USS Oak Hill. The group was training off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.

The ARG spent last month in pre-deployment training, to include non-combatant evacuation missions. MEUs and their accompanying ships are forward-deployed response forces meant to conduct a number of missions abroad.

In March, Military.com reported that the Wasp appeared to have issues off the coast of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Ship watchers spotted the vessel departing the installation, only to return shortly afterward with tugs alongside it. At the time, the Navy would not comment on the ship's status or what may have caused the early return.

Prior to the incident this week involving the two vessels, a Marine with the 24th MEU died after a parachute mishap late last month. That incident occurred during the unit's pre-deployment training.

The Marine was identified as Sgt. Colin Arslanbas, who had just been promoted to sergeant the same month he died. He was a reconnaissance Marine and part of the Maritime Special Purpose Force, or MSPF, a specialized unit within the MEU.

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