U.S. Navy ship collisions in the western Pacific may have killed more American troops so far this year than the war in Afghanistan, illuminating critical readiness challenges facing the military branch.
The collision of the USS John S. McCain with an oil tanker east of Singapore on Monday may have brought to 17 the number of sailors killed by Navy accidents in 2017, compared with 11 service members killed in Afghanistan, an active war zone, NPR reported first, citing the Military Times and icasualties.org.
The Navy announced Thursday it had suspended search-and-rescue operations for 10 missing sailors after recovering “some remains” inside the flooded compartments of the USS McCain. The White House issued an official statement Tuesday expressing condolences for the “United States sailor fatalities.” The Navy has officially declared two dead.
Divers Thursday night recovered the remains of 26-year-old electronics technician Dustin Louis Doyon. The Navy recovered the first body, Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, earlier in the week.
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