SAN DIEGO — In a shock-and-awe attack heard across coastal North County, the Navy and Marines launched an hour-long amphibious assault landing at Camp Pendleton Saturday in a brawny celebration of the service.
With nine warships taking position off the coast, helicopters advanced toward Camp Pendleton, Marines parachuted in and Navy SEALS stormed ashore.
Explosions shook Red Beach — which is located close to Interstate 5 — as the huge live-fire demonstration that’s being staged to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy and Marines got underway around 1 p.m. Later, M777 howitzers on Red Beach fired 155 mm shells inland, aimed at the Whiskey Impact Area in a remote part of the base.
The attack drew loud cheers among 15,000 Marines, Navy sailors, veterans and dignitaries who watched things unfold on a video screen not far away from a makeshift stadium alongside Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A narrator gave a play-by-play over a loudspeaker.
Vance, a Marine veteran who joined local Navy SEALS for a workout Saturday morning had a poignant moment addressing Camp Pendleton, saying, “From these mountains and this water, Marines have deployed to every major fight in the last century. From island hopping across the Pacific to Helmand Province and beyond.”
“Standing here, you can feel the weight of that history, the generations upon generations, upon Americans who cut their teeth at this base, boarding ships and carrying the American flag. But that’s exactly what Marines do,” Vance said.
The show ended an hour later with a huge, low-level fly-by of all the main types of aircraft represented in the event.
“It’s clear to me why President Trump says all the time we are the strongest, most powerful, most prepared military on the planet,” Hegseth told the gathered Marines in remarks that followed the demonstration. “Because you are that strength, that power.”
The celebration comes amid controversy. Gov. Gavin Newsom, after consulting with traffic safety experts at the California Highway Patrol, temporarily closed a large section of Interstate 5 that runs through Camp Pendleton because of the live artillery fired inland, across the freeway, during the drill. Motorists were earlier prevented from getting on the northbound freeway from on-ramps throughout Oceanside.
The assault, involving 8,500 sailors and Marines, represents one of the main roles of the Marines, founded as an amphibious force.
It includes the amphibious vessels USS Boxer, USS Makin Island and USS Pearl Harbor, as well as a broad cross-section of military might, from F-35 fighter jets to V22 Osprey transport planes.
At one point during the demonstration, four Marine F-18s buzzed the stadium to “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd, followed by Marines coming ashore in amphibious combat vehicles. Marine-laden hovercraft threw up dirt and water spray as they came in next, and fighter jets bolted off the deck of the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
The demonstration was filmed by the White House for a primetime television special to be aired on Nov. 9.
The simulated assault pleased Marine veteran Michael Chance of Oceanside. “This shows that the Trump administration is doing things right,” he said.
The spectre of live fire over the freeway and the last-minute decision to close a portion of I-5 sparked debate on both sides of the political aisle.
State officials cited “extreme life safety risk” and sudden, loud explosions that could distract drivers.
Camp Pendleton officials had earlier said it was not necessary to close the busy freeway that runs through the base. Base officials told state authorities that was because the exercise would be conducted on its training ranges, according to Newsom’s office.
However, late Friday, event organizers asked for Caltrans signage to be posted along I-5 that would read: “Overhead fire in progress,” according to Newsom. State officials near Camp Pendleton also observed live munitions being fired near the freeway on Friday as an apparent practice run, according to the office.
On Saturday, military officials confirmed with state officials that the live-fire exercise would begin at 1:30 p.m., Newsom’s office said.
The Marines also requested that all train service between San Diego and Orange counties be suspended during the exercise.
“The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety,” Newsom said in a statement Saturday. “Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous.”
County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican whose district encompasses much of North County, called the decision to close the freeway “a petty stunt,” citing the Marines’ decades of experience training around the busy thoroughfare.
“This isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s going to cause medical emergencies to be delayed, workers to miss shifts, and families to have their plans and events ruined,” Desmond said in a statement on X.
The freeway reopened fully to motorists around 2 p.m.
Outside the base’s main gate Saturday afternoon, about 35 demonstrators shrugged off the closure warnings and showed up for a hastily organized gathering that coincided with the No Kings day of protest.
“Hey hey, ho ho, Whiskey Pete has got to go!” chanted the group, waving flags and signs, as a motorcade passed by about 3 p.m.
Russ Clark of Oceanside and his wife joined the Pendleton group after spending the morning at the much larger No Kings event in Carlsbad. In June, they were at the one in San Diego.
“Every time I go to one of these, I feel inspired to do more and get involved,” Clark said. “You can’t just watch TV.”
Another Pendleton participant, Kevin Curry, said the crowd there was smaller, but it was a good spot to send their message to Marines entering and leaving the base.
“It’s not the most supportive audience, but it’s a very important audience,” Curry said.
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(Staff writer Philip Diehl contributed to this report.)
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Source: The Garden Island