The Defense Department on Monday identified the two Navy SEALs who were lost at sea and died this month in a nighttime commando attack on a small ship carrying weapons components bound for Yemen.
Active and veteran SEALs said it appeared the men sank quickly before they could be rescued and that the circumstances of their deaths raised questions about the planning and execution of the raid. An official investigation is still pending.
Special Operator First Class Christopher J. Chambers, 37, and Special Operator Second Class Nathan Gage Ingram, 27, died Jan. 11 when SEALs in two stealth attack speedboats, shadowed by helicopters and drones, attacked a dhow, a type of small boat, Boarded wooden cargo ship in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Somalia.
As the two men tried to climb a rope ladder in rough seas, one fell into the sea and another jumped into the water to attempt a rescue, according to defense officials briefed on the incident. Both SEALs were quickly lost in the waves.
A joint search effort by naval forces from the United States, Spain and Japan scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean for more than a week for the missing SEALs. The Defense Ministry said Sunday that the men were presumed dead.
They were assigned to SEAL Team 3 based in Coronado, California.
“We extend our condolences to Chris and Gage’s families, friends and teammates during this incredibly challenging time,” Capt. Blake L. Chaney, commander of Naval Special Warfare Group 1, said in a statement Monday. “They were exceptional warriors, valued teammates and dear friends to many in the Naval Special Warfare community.”
The boarding mission resulted in the seizure of Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components that the Defense Ministry said were intended for Houthi fighters in Yemen. The dhow's 14 crew members were taken aboard a Navy ship and the dhow was sunk, a Pentagon Central Command statement said.
It was the first time U.S. forces seized Iranian weapons sent to Houthi fighters since they began attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea in November.
Originally from Texas, Special Operator Ingram was commissioned as a SEAL in 2021 and was on his first deployment, according to Navy records. Special Operator Chambers, of Maryland, has deployed multiple times since becoming a SEAL in 2013, fighting against Islamic State militants.
Their families could not be reached for comment.
A message that a SEAL officer sent to active-duty SEALs a day after the two men were lost and obtained by The New York Times said the younger SEAL slipped from the ladder and his more experienced platoon mate went after him . The message said a third SEAL also fell while boarding and hit the SEALs' speedboat before entering the water. This SEAL was quickly rescued, but the other two were lost.
According to Eric Deming, a retired senior SEAL chief who conducted similar missions, the details of the accident have confused many current and former SEALs.
In recent years, the Navy has repeatedly intercepted ships carrying weapons for Yemen with destroyers without any incidents. Why, Mr. Deming asked, did the SEAL task force commander decide to board a slow-moving dhow in dangerous seas at night rather than wait for better conditions?
It's standard for SEALs on boarding missions to wear flotation devices and tracking beacons, he said. If those safety precautions were followed and Navy speedboats and helicopters were in close proximity, Mr. Deming asked, how could two SEALs have been lost?
“It doesn’t make sense to a lot of us,” he said. “Something else must have gone wrong.”
Mr. Deming, as well as several active-duty SEALs who offered their views on the raid but declined to be quoted directly, suggested that the two men may have been carrying so much equipment that they were able to move quickly despite wearing flotation devices sank.
The SEALs said that standard operating procedures required that Navy speedboats be used to rescue the SEALs in the water; They wondered why one SEAL after another jumped from a swimming ladder.
Navy Special Warfare, which includes the SEALs, declined to comment, saying the incident was still under investigation.
“The details of the incident are being thoroughly investigated,” a spokesman said. “Until then, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the details of the incident and make assumptions about what led to the disappearance of our sailors.”
Eric Schmitt contributed reporting. Susan Beachy contributed to the research.