Drownings of two Navy SEALs off Somalia were preventable, Navy investigation finds

The drownings of two Navy SEALs during a maritime intercept off the coast of Somalia were preventable, caused by a lack of proper training and unclear guidance on effective flotation, a Navy investigation found.

The drownings of two Navy SEALs during a maritime intercept off the coast of Somalia were preventable, caused by a lack of proper training and unclear guidance on effective flotation, a Navy investigation found. During a night-time intercept of a ship carrying Iranian weapons to Yemen, Chief Special Warfare Operator Christopher Chambers and Naval Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Nathan Ingram fell into heavy seas while trying to board. Chambers, the Leading Petty Officer of the platoon, fell in from the side of the ship, while Ingram jumped into the water immediately to help. Loaded with gear for the intercept mission, the two Navy SEALs went under in less than a minute. Chambers was seen “only intermittently” at the surface for 26 seconds; Ingram was seen “only intermittently” for 32 seconds. “The entire tragic event elapsed in just forty-seven (47) seconds, and two [Naval Special Warfare] officers were lost to the sea,” the investigation found. “Encumbered by the weight of each individual’s gear, neither their physical capability nor emergency supplemental flotation devices, if activated, were sufficient to keep them at the surface.” The findings by Naval Special Warfare Command mark the conclusion of a monthslong investigation to determine how two members of one of the most elite and highly trained teams in the US military drowned during a mission for which they had prepared. “This incident, marked by systemic issues, was preventable,” wrote Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, in his review of the investigation. Chambers and Ingram were posthumously promoted.