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Marine Raider Killed in Training At Pendleton Identified

Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua Braica, 29, died Sunday after being critically injured in a training exercise.
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Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua Braica, 29, died Sunday after being critically injured in a training exercise.

The Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command released more details about the Raider who was killed at Camp Pendleton over the weekend.

The California native was an eight-year veteran of the corps.

Staff Sgt. Joshua Braica, 29, originally from Sacramento, leaves behind a wife and child. Braica was a Critical Skills Operator with 1st Marine Raider Battalion, the elite unit stationed at Camp Pendleton.

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He joined the Marines in 2010. In 2011, he deployed as an intelligence specialist with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Pacific. In 2015, he became a Raider and deployed with the Marines Special Operations unit from July 2017 to January 2018, in the Indo-Pacific Command region.

Braica was critically injured when the MRZR tactical vehicle he was driving rolled over during a training exercise Saturday. He was medically evacuated to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where he died Sunday evening.

Two other Raiders were treated for minor injuries. The Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) said the accident is under investigation.

The MRZR looks like a dune buggy. It can carry up to four people. The vehicle has only been in wide service in the Marine Corps since 2017.

Among the recent training accidents that have happened at Camp Pendleton, 14 Marines and a sailor were injured in 2017 when armored personnel carrier struck a gas main.