Marine Corps·Consolidated / merged·In Memoriam
Marine LAV-AD (Light Armored Vehicle – Air Defense) Crewman
Blazer
Served: 1996–c.2007
Crewed the LAV-AD turret — five-barrel 25mm GAU-12 Gatling gun, four Stinger missiles, and a 70mm Hydra rocket pod — providing mobile short-range air defense for LAR battalions.
The Story
A Marine Corps Times investigation found the service couldn't produce photos or location data on its own LAV-ADs — they had simply ceased to exist on the books. Seventeen mobile air-defense systems, written off into the void.
Epitaph
“17 built. 0 photographs the Corps could find. Vanished into the books.”
Sources
- Marine Corps Times — LAV-ADwww.marinecorpstimes.com
- Army Technology — Blazerwww.army-technology.com