Live artillery over a busy SoCal freeway — what could possibly go wrong? | Opinion
Perhaps it’s time we all had a refresher course on Murphy’s Law — especially for the benefit of those masterminds who thought it would be a good idea to fire live artillery shells over Interstate 5 in Southern California.
Here, then, is Air Force Capt. Edward Murphy’s pithy bit of wisdom: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”
Once again, that was proven to be the case on Saturday, Oct. 18, during what was supposed to be a perfectly safe demonstration of military might at Camp Pendleton, located near San Diego.
The exercise, held in honor of the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps, was billed as a simulation of a beach assault, except there was nothing simulated about the explosive shells they shot from very real howitzers along the seashore.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth were among those in attendance.
It did not go off as planned.
‘Overhead fire in progress’
Specifically, the part that wasn’t planned occurred when an artillery round from a M777 howitzer “detonated overhead prematurely, striking and damaging a CHP patrol vehicle,” the California Highway Patrol reported.
Fortunately, no one was injured. The patrol car, which was parked on an I-5 on-ramp, was left with just a minor dent. There were reports that shrapnel hit Vance’s motorcade, though that was not included in the CHP report.
Yes, it could have been worse, especially if the busy freeway had been kept open to traffic, as the federal government had originally planned. (The freeway was open to traffic during a Friday evening“dress rehearsal.”)
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he ultimately decided to shut down I-5 on Saturday after event organizers asked Caltrans to post “Overhead fire in progress” on electronic message boards.
News photos taken the day of the event showed signs flashing, “Live weapons over freeway.”
Can you imagine?
It’s hard enough negotiating Southern California’s freeways without having to worry about 100-pound artillery rounds whizzing overhead.
Newsom did the right thing, though the last-minute closure tied up traffic. According to the Los Angeles Times, it took drivers at least 30 minutes just to exit the freeway.
Safety first?
This was not a good look for the Marine Corps, which had assured the public that it had everything under control.
“All air, surface, and ground movements are scripted and rehearsed in accordance with standard operating procedures and established safety checklists,” the Marines said in a news release.
For its part, the White House — which had criticized Newsom for closing the freeway — didn’t some off so well either.
“Newscum is lying,” it posted on X a few hours before the artillery snafu. “He closed the highway — not only did nobody at the White House or the Marines ask him to do so, the Marines repeatedly said there are no public safety concerns with today’s exercises.”
Apparently hot metal raining down from the sky doesn’t qualify as a public safety concern to them, but I’m not sure those CHP officers would agree.
Now an investigation is under way to determine exactly what went wrong.
The CHP also is asking for a “review into the planning, communication and coordination between federal, state, and local government ... to strengthen protocols for future demonstrations and training events near public roadways.”
It’s fair to say the agency is not happy.
“This was an unusual and concerning situation,” CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado said is a statement. “It is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway. As a Marine myself, I have tremendous respect for our military partners, but my foremost responsibility is ensuring the safety of the people of California and the officers who protect them.”
“Highly uncommon” sounds like an understatement. I challenge historians to come up with another time when the U.S. military fired live ammunition over an “active freeway” in order to impress some dignitaries.
And don’t get me started on how much this little “exercise” and the follow-up investigation will wind up costing taxpayers. (The Marine Corps has not yet released any figures. Don’t hold your breath waiting for them.)
Certainly, the Marines deserve an anniversary celebration. But next time, how about settling for a parade, a cake and maybe a few fireworks?
Not much can go wrong with that, right Capt. Murphy?
