The commander of the American Fifth Fleet who was found dead in his apartment in Bahrain committed suicide!
130323-N-GC639-162 ARABIAN SEA (March 23, 2013) – German frigate FGS Hamburg (F220) and the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) steam alongside fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) while guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) steams astern of Hamburg during a replenishment-at-sea. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Hue City and Hamburg are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility promoting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan D. McLearnon/Released)
The commander of the US Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral Scott A. Stearney, 58, who oversaw US naval forces in the Middle East, was found dead on Saturday at his residence in Bahrain, officials said.
Pentagon officials told CBS News that they described it as “obvious suicide”.
Stearney was the commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
The US Navy said in a statement that Rear-Admiral Paul J. Schlise, the deputy commander of the Fifth Fleet, took command.
“This is devastating news for the Stearney family and to the entire Fifth Fleet crew, and for the entire US Navy”, said Navy Chief of Staff Admiral John Richardson.
Vice Admiral Scott A. Stearney was a brilliant naval warrior.
He was a husband and a devoted father, and he was a good friend of us all”.
The Navy said the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Interior Ministry were investigating Stearney’s death, but no violence was suspected.
Stearney, how is a Chicago native, joined the Navy in 1982 after graduating from Notre Dame University, according to his official career resume.
He became a pilot in 1984 and was in several combat squadrons and recorded more than 4,500 hours “accident-free” flying.
He was previously director of Central Command operations, and became commander of the Fifth Fleet in May 2018, after Admiral John C. Aquilino was relieved of his duties.
The Fifth Fleet operates in the Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean, including critical strategic bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.
