The celebration at Camp Pendleton was billed as an uplifting event to honor the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps and highlight the enduring strength and commitment of the nation’s troops.
A simulated beach assault in which artillery was fired from the sand toward the interior of the sprawling base was intended to be a capstone demonstration of the capabilities of the Marine Corps. But the display went awry — and was forced to end early — when an artillery round exploded midair, sending shrapnel raining down onto a California Highway Patrol cruiser that was parked on an Interstate 5 on-ramp.
While no one was hurt, experts say the decision to fire live munitions over the freeway during the ceremony was highly unusual.
While Camp Pendleton is a large base, spanning approximately 125,000 acres between Orange and San Diego counties, its constricted location makes it relatively challenging for Marines to engage in dynamic, live firing exercises. Most of that training happens at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms or north of El Centro at the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, according to a retired senior Marine officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
“It’s so canned as we would call it, or preplanned, that there’s not a lot of training value in it,” the source said of large-scale artillery training at Camp Pendleton.
Artillery pieces such as the M777 howitzers that were used during Saturday’s demonstration aren’t fired on the base very frequently, and sending artillery rounds over the freeway is extremely rare. In fact, none of Camp Pendleton’s artillery firing areas are located west of Interstate 5, according to base maps.
Designated impact areas — Whiskey and Zulu — are located far inland and are used for live-fire exercises, according to maps of the base. There are also preplanned artillery firing areas, none of which are along the beaches west of Interstate 5, according to maps of the Marine Corps base.
Pendleton’s “Range and Training Area Standing Operating Procedures” notes that use of any artillery firing areas that aren’t pre-established has to be requested 30 days prior to the date of use and requires an environmental review.
“That validates that this is not a regular occurrence and it’s a deviation from standard procedures,” the source said. “It’s really rare.”
A spokesperson for the Marine Corps said the military is still gathering data on how often they’ve fired artillery over Interstate 5.
Here’s what we know:
What happened?
At 1:46 p.m., an artillery round from an M777 howitzer was launched from White’s Beach northward, according to a CHP incident report obtained by The Times. The report said that “an artillery round failed to clear the roadway and detonated midflight. … The explosion sent shrapnel toward” the CHP protective services detail.
An unoccupied CHP patrol vehicle was hit by metal shrapnel and was damaged. The shrapnel that struck the patrol vehicle was about 2 inches by 2½ inches. The shrapnel left what was described as a “small dent/scratch” on the vehicle’s hood.
A CHP motorcycle officer heard debris falling on his motorcycle and an area around 3 feet from him, and later found a piece of shrapnel about an inch in length and half an inch wide near the motorcycle. The motorcycle was not damaged.
No one was injured.
A Marine spokesperson said one volley of five shells was fired during the demonstration — four shells hit their target and one exploded midair. The rest of the 55 shells were not fired after the mishap.
What is a M777 howitzer?
The M777 howitzer is an indirect fire weapon, meaning that it’s made to loft explosive shells in an arced trajectory over friendly forces and into enemy territory.
Each round is about 2 feet long and consists of a detonating fuse, projectile, propellant and primer. The fuse is screwed into the front of the shell and determines the manner in which the shell will explode. An impact fuse detonates when it hits the ground, sending shrapnel into opposing forces territory. Proximity fuses are designed to detonate in the air when they are a certain distance from a target, experts say.
They shells fire at a range of 13 to 20 miles, although certain techniques can extend the range up to 25 miles.
It is not clear what type of fuse the Marine Corps used during Saturday’s event. But military officials said they suspect there was an issue with the fuse that led to the premature detonation.
It’s not a surprise that the M777 howitzer was featured in a celebration of the Marine Corps.
The weapon, which been in use by the Army and Marine Corps since 2005, has provided firepower in counter terror and counterinsurgency operations in places like Syria for years. It’s also become one of the more frequently used artillery weapons in the war in Ukraine.
“It would be hard to envision if they were developing a live fire demonstration that they wouldn’t include this system,” said Carlton Haelig, a fellow with the defense program at the Center for New American Security.
What happened with the freeway closure?
Late Wednesday night, the Marine Corps posted a statement on X saying it intended to hold a “live-fire” demonstration on Saturday at Camp Pendleton and that no public highways or transportation routes would be closed.
“All training events will occur on approved training ranges and comport with established safety protocols,” the statement said, adding that the White House would film the demonstration to be included in a national prime-time broadcast on Nov. 9.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said that the Marine Corps on Thursday confirmed that the exercise would be conducted on training ranges, as is done routinely at the base, but not over Interstate 5.
State officials had been weighing whether to order the closure of the freeway themselves — but by Thursday morning, amid the new assurances, they backed off of those plans.
But on Friday, state officials observed M777 howitzers fire shells over Interstate 5 from Red Beach. A Marine spokesperson later said it was part of a dress rehearsal.
The state also received a request late Friday from the event organizers that electronic bulletin boards along Interstate 5 read: “Overhead fire in progress,” the governor’s office said. The wording seen on Saturday said, “Live weapons over freeway.”
By Saturday morning, Newsom’s office and Caltrans announced there would be a closure of a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 during the demonstration “due to safety concerns.”
Newsom’s press office accused the federal government in a post on X of misleading Californians about live munitions being fired over the freeway and saying the governor was overreacting when he issued the freeway closure.
“Without a doubt an apology is owed — to not just Californians, but all Americans,” the office wrote on X.
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