The U.S. Navy on Saturday identified a sailor who went overboard while deployed in the Red Sea.
n Saturday, the Department of Defense announced the death of one sailor who was based out of Norfolk.
Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class Oriola Michael Aregbesola, 34, died on March 20, 2024 of non-combat related injuries. The Defense Department reports Aregbesola was lost overboard while his squadron operated in the Red Sea.
The sailor, Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Oriola Michael Aregbesola, went overboard from the USS Mason on Wednesday, military officials said. He was assigned to the “Swamp Foxes” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 74.
Officials have identified a Florida sailor who died after going missing at sea last week while stationed on the USS Mason in the Red Sea.
The service member was named in a statement from the Department of Defense on Saturday as 34-year-old Oriola Michael Aregbesola, an aviation machinist’s mate 2nd class.
Central Command said in its own statement on Friday.
Aregbesola, a 34-year-old Florida resident, joined the Navy in July 2020.
“Petty Officer Aregbesola fully embodied the selfless character and thoughtful warrior spirit of the United States Navy Sailor,” Cmdr. Eric Kohut, HSM-74 commanding officer, said. .
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, recently told “60 Minutes” there were about 7,000 American sailors deployed in the Red Sea region.
President Biden deployed the U.S. Navy to the Red Sea after Houthi rebels, who seized control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas.
He was assigned to the USS Mason and deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group intended to deter increased hostilities in the region sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, defense officials said.
Aregbesola died from a “non-combat”-related injury, according to Saturday’s statement.
It remains under investigation.
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