Lance Cpl. Nicholas Maurice Dural, 20, of Lafayette, Louisiana, had been serving at the U.S. embassy in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, since April. Sgt. Matthew Bylski died after the amphibious combat vehicle flipped during training on land at Camp Pendleton, California. The backlog of overdue disability claims is expected to keep rising over the next year. Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney will perform the duties of commandant while Commandant Gen. Eric Smith remains hospitalized. Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl is the interim acting commandant following Gen. Eric Smith's medical emergency Sunday evening. The cost-of-living adjustment is significantly less than last year’s, which at 8.7% was the largest bump in four decades. The special operations capable 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit faced a change of plans in the days after war broke out between Israel and Hamas. The complex simulations at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland were meant to test how well the F-35 would perform in real-world combat scenarios. The crash occurred on government property east of the air station at 11:54 p.m. local time Thursday. A Marine training at School of Infantry-West died Thursday during “a night live-fire training event," according to the Marine Corps. Load More