WASHINGTON: U.S. officials are revising their preliminary findings on what happened to two Navy SEALs who died during a mission to board an unflagged ship that was carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to Yemen.
Based on further review and interviews with personnel involved in the operations, U.S. officials said Wednesday that Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers was boarding the boat on Jan. 11 and slipped into the gap the high waves had created between the vessel and the SEALs’ combatant craft. As Chambers fell, Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram jumped in to try to save him, according to U.S. officials familiar with what happened.
In the immediate aftermath, U.S. officials had indicated that Ingram had fallen in and that Chambers had jumped in after him. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing review of the mission, said the change is based on new information that has been gathered.
Both Chambers and Ingram were lost at sea, as efforts to find and rescue them were unsuccessful.
In a statement, Naval Special Warfare Command said that an investigation is continuing to gather more information on what happened.
The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet is conducting an investigation. That probe is expected to examine whether the SEALs were properly equipped and trained for the mission, whether procedures were followed, and any decisions regarding the timing and approval of the raid, including the weather and the state of the seas.
Chambers, 37, of Maryland, enlisted in the Navy in 2012 and graduated from SEAL training in 2014. Ingram, 27, of Texas, enlisted in 2019 and graduated from SEAL training in 2021.
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