“60 MINUTES” LISTINGS FOR SUNDAY, FEB. 6
DEATH IN TRAINING – Lesley Stahl investigates accidents during training involving military armored vehicles. 60 MINUTES found that in recent years, more servicemembers were killed in training accidents than in combat, and a large percentage of those accidents involved military vehicles: from Humvees to light armored vehicles to AAVs. Stahl reports on the causes and potential solutions. She interviewed parents who lost children in such accidents, including Michael McDowell and Susan Flanigan of Chestertown, Maryland.
A note from Mr. McDowell: “My wife and I were interviewed last month by Lesley Stahl about our military safety reform campaign. Our son, Marine 1st. Lieutenant H. Conor McDowell, 24, was needlessly killed in a preventable training fiasco, when his Light Armored Vehicle plunged and rolled into a deep crevasse hidden by eight-foot high grass and scrub, on Thursday, May 9, 2019. We and Conor’s fiancee, Kathleen Bourque, have worked with other grieving families, with House and Senate leaders and staff, the GAO, and civilian and military engineering experts to lower the shocking death toll and horrific injuries in fully preventable tactical vehicle rollovers in training. That awful record of fatalities has indeed declined. But just a few days ago, two 19-year old Marines from Camp Lejeune were killed in a 7-ton passenger truck rollover on a state highway in full daylight. We will continue our safety reform campaign during this year, to include further legislation to be included in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Yes, rollover deaths and terrible injuries and other preventable training disasters are already down but can be lowered even further.”
Dan Rodricks 