A U.S. Marine died Tuesday in a training incident at Camp Schwab in northern Okinawa, and the 3rd Marine Division said the Marine’s name will be withheld until 24 hours after the family is notified. The service said it is investigating what happened.
The division said Wednesday evening that it expressed its deepest condolences to the Marine’s family and loved ones. 1st Lt. Hannah Ladd said she had no further information to provide.
The death is now the central question hanging over Camp Schwab, where Marines train in Okinawa as part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ presence in the Pacific. The 3rd Marine Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Kyle B. Ellison and based at Camp Courtney, is the force that disclosed the fatal incident and the delay in naming the Marine.
That delay is part of the story. The division has confirmed the death and the fact of an investigation, but not the circumstances behind it or the identity of the Marine involved. The gap leaves the public with a bare outline of the event: a fatal training incident, a grieving family, and a service still not saying what went wrong.
The division’s Okinawa-based elements include the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and Headquarters Battalion. For now, the only firm next step is the release of the Marine’s name, which the service said will come after the family notification window closes. The cause of the incident remains unknown.
