SAN DIEGO — A San Diego-based explosive ordinance disposal and dive officer died Sunday throughout coaching at a Hawaii Marine Corps base, the Navy mentioned Wednesday.
Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler turned unresponsive throughout coaching and was pronounced lifeless at a hospital, the Navy mentioned in an announcement.
Fowler, 29, was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Cellular Unit 1 at Naval Base Level Loma.
“Our deepest sympathies exit to Aaron’s household and associates, and we be a part of them in remembering and mourning this courageous warrior,” mentioned Rear Adm. Joseph Diguardo Jr., the commander of Navy Expeditionary Fight Command, in an announcement. “His choice to hitch this elite particular operations group was a testomony to the devoted and selfless character he embodied and his legacy will endure in our ranks via these he impressed by his service.”
No particulars in regards to the coaching Fowler was engaged in when he turned unresponsive had been instantly accessible Wednesday. Nonetheless, he was within the third part of the Marine Corps’ Reconnaissance Leaders Course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, in keeping with Lt. Cmdr. David Carter, a Navy Expeditionary Fight Command spokesperson.
A Marine spokesperson despatched the next assertion to the Union-Tribune in response to a request for extra details about Fowler’s demise throughout coaching:
“The Marine Corps provides its deepest sympathies to the household and associates of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Aaron Fowler, who died whereas taking part within the remaining part of the Marine Corps Reconnaissance Leaders Course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kanehoe Bay,” mentioned 1st Lt. Phillip Parker. “Investigations into the circumstances and reason for demise are at present beneath manner.”
The Reconnaissance Leaders Course lasts eight weeks and teaches planning, briefing and main groups in patrolling, floor reconnaissance and amphibious operations, Parker mentioned. In the course of the course, trainees spend time at Camp Pendleton and the Yuma, Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station earlier than finishing the ultimate three weeks of coaching in Hawaii, in keeping with the Marine Corps’ web site.
In Hawaii, trainees be taught clandestine amphibious and jungle operations. Parker didn’t instantly reply to the Union-Tribune’s follow-up questions on which coaching evolution was underway Sunday.
Fowler was initially from Oklahoma and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2018, in keeping with his Navy service biography. He attended graduate college at Georgetown College earlier than getting into the Navy’s dive and EOD faculties in 2020. He reported to his San Diego unit in November.
The Naval Prison Investigative Service is investigating Fowler’s demise, the Navy mentioned.
Fowler’s demise marks the second of a San Diego-based Navy particular operations trainee this 12 months. In February, Seaman Kyle Mullen, 24, died instantly after finishing Navy SEAL coaching’s infamous “Hell Week” at Naval Base Coronado. Whereas EOD sailors routinely deploy with and help SEALs conducting particular operations, coaching is administratively dealt with by separate command buildings, mentioned Lt. Cmdr. Kara Handley, a Naval Particular Warfare spokesperson in Coronado.
Mullen’s demise continues to be beneath investigation, Handley mentioned.
_____
©2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Go to sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content material Company, LLC.
© Copyright 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
