U.S. Marines with Security and Emergency Services Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, conduct a relief and appointment ceremony on Camp Pendleton, California, May 5, 2023. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Hector N. Ortiz, the outgoing sergeant major of Security and Emergency Services Battalion, MCB Camp Pendleton, relinquished his post to Sgt. Maj. Andre L. Cuthbertson, the incoming sergeant major. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Luis Agostini and Sgt. Jared Curtis)
At 11:00 a.m., April 1st, 2023, a threat quickly emerged at an entry control gate located in the largely barren northern region of Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton. That afternoon, a lone military policeman’s alertness and hasty response to engage emergency barriers averted a base-wide security crisis. A civilian vehicle attempting to gain unauthorized access to the installation collided head-on with the engaged emergency barriers,...
