Marine Corps Times reports that “Senators asked Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller on Wednesday if the steep budget cuts Congress has foisted on the military have led to fatal helicopter crashes and put other Marines’ lives at risk.”  

“At the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin asked Neller what lawmakers could do to avert tragedies such as the Jan. 14 crash of two CH-53Es from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 that killed 12 Marines.”  

“Durbin, D-Ill., cited reporting from Marine Corps Times that Marine aviation deaths were at a five-year high even before the Jan. 14 crash, with 18 Marines killed in 13 incidents between May 2014 and September.”