Marine Corps artillery mishap part of unusual firing over highway

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Oct 21, 2025, 1:05 PM ET


The US Marine Corps is no stranger to firing live ordnance as part of training, but it had been years — more than 70, according to one US official — since Marines had fired artillery over a stretch of the I-5 interstate in California like troops did last weekend during the Corps’ 250th birthday celebration.

The very first shell fired as part of the demonstration exploded on Saturday over the interstate, stretches of which serve as the busiest highway in America, dropping at least one shell fragment on a parked California Highway Patrol cruiser. The celebration at Camp Pendleton, California, was attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The Marine Corps is currently investigating what went wrong with the round, a 155mm artillery shell that had been fired by an M777 Howitzer. The day before Marines had successfully fired more than two dozen shells from the same batch of artillery, according to the official, lending more questions as to what happened on Saturday and why.

CNN has reported there were no injuries from the incident, which the California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Tony Coronado called “an unusual and concerning situation.” The Marine Corps did not respond to questions about who made the decision to fire over I-5, when the last time was that the Marine Corps fired artillery over the interstate, or if there were broader concerns regarding the artillery batch the shell that prematurely detonated came from.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/marine-corps-artillery-155-mishap

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REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143548436
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143549558
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143549904
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143550091
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143550274

[C Moon]

1. I was wondering if someone did something wrong on purpose. I don't know what that would prove, though.

[Irish_Dem]

6. I have the same thought.

Sometimes mistakes take a lot of planning.

[mountain grammy]

13. Yes, the first shell exploding seems a little strange.

[Dave Bowman]

2. That's beyond strange. Wonder what happened.

[Initech]

3. That asshole and his deranged sidekick have gone completely mad with power?

[Irish_Dem]

7. Yes.

[Dave Bowman]

9. I wouldn't be surprised at all.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

4. Gavin Newsom, lifesaver

If that highway had been full of fast-moving cars and trucks, the shrapnel would likely have caused a massive pileup. And Team Fuckface would have been cackling with glee at having shelled a bunch of Californians with total deniability.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Trump et al would have been thrilled to kill liberals.

Trump is at war with America.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. Oh, my goodness. Could it be sabotage?

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. The issue is not defective ammo

Maybe it was a defective shell - that happens - the issue is why they chose to fire over a major highway in the first place. It did not seem to have any benefit to training or to the ceremonies, it was just a deliberate and inept FU to the people of California.

[maxsolomon]

15. Courtesy of the Sec of War

It was very Hegsethian.

[Deep State Witch]

11. Oops!

Did I do that?

[Rebl2]

12. Glad it

landed on highway patrol vehicle and not some other random vehicle in the area.

[twodogsbarking]

14. Where I grew up people would say "they dun fucked up, agin".

[BidenRocks]

16. I want a Summary Court Martial

for every Marine who kissed chumps ass to allow this.

I doubt there would have been an 'anniversary' themed beach assault if not for chump.

They wouldn't set up fire bases on the beach side without
Hogsbreath and Just Dance ordering them.

Endangering civilians by only following orders?

Get out of my Marine Corps!