Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, died on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, according to a DOD release.

The soldiers, who were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, were killed during an attack by an unmanned aircraft, the release added.

The incident is currently under investigation.

“We honor our fallen heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a release. “Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten.”

U.S. Central Command officials announced Sunday that three service members were killed in action and five troops were “seriously wounded” during combat actions against Iran.

On Monday officials said a fourth service member seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks succumbed to their injuries. Later that day officials stated U.S. forces recovered the remains of two “previously unaccounted for” troops from a facility struck during Iran’s initial attacks, bringing the total number of service members killed in the operation to six as of Monday, according to a CENTCOM update.

Several other troops “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” CENTCOM officials said Sunday.

“To the families and teammates of these Cactus Nation soldiers: you have my deepest sympathy and my respect,” Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general, 79th Theater Sustainment Command, said in the release. “Our nation is kept safe by folks like these — brave men and women who put it all on the line every single day. They represent the heart of America. We will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice.”

Khork enlisted as a 13P (multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist) in the National Guard in 2009, officials stated. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014, deploying to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024.

Khork’s awards include: the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and “M” Device and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

Amor enlisted in the National Guard as a 92A (automated logistics specialist) in 2005. She transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and later deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.

Amor’s awards include: the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.

Tietjens enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a 91B (wheeled vehicle mechanic). He previously deployed twice to Kuwait, once in 2009 and again in 2019.

Tietjens’ awards include: the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.

Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as a 25B (Army information technology specialist).

Coady’s awards include: the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

Additional details surrounding the circumstances of the other service members’ deaths have not yet been made available.

Iran has unleashed retaliatory strikes at U.S. military installations and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East amid ongoing bombardment by U.S. and Israeli forces.

The assault by U.S. and partner forces began Saturday at 1:15 a.m., CENTCOM officials stated, with the goal of knocking out “the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat.”

Among the primary targets of the operation were Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command-and-control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.

“I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important,” Trump wrote in a post on X, adding that Iran’s naval headquarters has been “largely destroyed” in a different attack.

“We are going after the rest — They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!” Trump wrote.

U.S. Central Command officials said earlier Sunday that an Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by U.S. forces at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

“The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” the statement reads. “As the president said, members of Iran’s armed forces, IRGC and police ‘must lay down your weapons.’ Abandon ship.”

Three U.S. service members have been killed in action during combat operations against Iran, CENTCOM officials announced Sunday. Five more have been listed as “seriously wounded.”

U.S. B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s hardened ballistic missiles with 2,000-lb. bombs Saturday night, CENTCOM announced in a separate post Sunday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ claim that it struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles a “lie” in a post on X on Sunday.

“The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” CENTCOM said in the post. “The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”

The Lincoln carrier strike group is one of two U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups deployed to the region, alongside the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group, as part of the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the Middle East in a generation.

The assault by U.S. and partner forces began Saturday at 1:15 a.m., CENTCOM officials stated, with the goal of knocking out “the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat.”

Among the primary targets of the operation were Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields, according to the statement.

The compound of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was also targeted in the operation. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Khamenei was killed in the strike. Trump later confirmed in a Truth Social post on Saturday that Khamenei was killed in the attack, calling the moment “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

At least 201 people have been killed and more than 700 injured across Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The incident was reported near Tarawa Terrace Elementary School at the North Carolina base that afternoon, Camp Lejeune officials said in a Jan. 13 release.

On-base schools and child development centers were placed on lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while law enforcement responded, according to the release. The lockdown was later lifted and schools resumed normal operations.

“Law enforcement actions during the incident resulted in one fatality,” the release said.

The Camp Lejeune release did not identify the deceased, citing notification of next of kin.

On Friday, three days after the incident, the Jacksonville Police Department identified off-duty Jacksonville Police Department officer Philip Chiorino, 31, as the deceased. Police officials said Chiorino sustained life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced dead.

Chiorino had served in the Marines before coming to the department and lived on Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville Police Chief Jarad Phelps told reporters Friday. Chiorino was married to a Marine stationed at the base, an MCIEAST-MCB Camp Lejeune & MCAS New River public affairs official confirmed Wednesday.

According to the public affairs official, Chiorino served in the Marines from June 2014 to February 2024 and his jobs included working as a mortarman and Marine combat instructor. He deployed multiple times in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

His awards and decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Conditions, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, among others. He held the rank of sergeant.

Chiorino was hired by the Jacksonville Police Department in 2024 and he most recently worked as a school resource officer, according to Phelps.

The Marine Corps has not released additional details on what led to Chiorino’s death.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the incident. The agency declined to comment Wednesday, citing the investigative process.

“NCIS remains focused on ensuring the safety and security of our Navy and Marine Corps communities as we carry out our mission to investigate and deter criminal and security threats to the Department of the Navy,” NCIS officials said in a statement to Military Times.

Capt. Gilbert Clark Jr. was relieved from his role by academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively lead the Brigade of Midshipmen,” the school said in a brief release.

“The naval service maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met,” the service academy said.

The release did not provide further details of Clark’s dismissal. The Navy often uses the “loss of confidence” phrase when dismissing senior leadership.

Clark’s dismissal is the latest of several shakeups in the service academy’s leadership this year.

In July, Vice. Adm. Yvette M. Davids — the first woman to serve as the superintendent of the school — was nominated to become deputy chief of naval operations for operations, plans, strategy and warfighting development, Navy Times previously reported.

Davis was replaced by Borgschulte, the first Marine Corps officer to serve as the service academy’s superintendent.

In his role as commandant, Clark oversaw the day-to-day conduct, military training and professional development of the service academy’s students.

Capt. Austin Jackson, deputy commandant of midshipmen, has assumed duties as the interim commandant, the service academy said.

Since early September 2025, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in support of what the Pentagon has called continued counternarcotics efforts.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The administration, arguing the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, has described the strikes as necessary to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United States.

Military Times is maintaining a list of strikes conducted by the U.S. military since early September, based on reporting by Military Times, The Associated Press and strikes acknowledged by the Trump administration.

As of June 22, the Trump administration and U.S. military have disclosed 66 strikes, killing at least 196 people.

June 2026

June 21: U.S. Southern Command announced a lethal kinetic strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing two and leaving six survivors. SOUTHCOM notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which conducted a search and rescue mission for the survivors.

June 18: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three, U.S. Southern Command announced.

June 16: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing one and leaving two survivors, according to U.S. Southern Command. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified of the survivors after the strike and activated a search and rescue mission.

June 3: U.S. Southern Command announced that it launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two.

May 2026

May 30: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three, according to U.S. Southern Command.

May 29: U.S. Southern Command announced that it launched a lethal kinetic strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three.

May 27: U.S. Southern Command announced that it conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two.

May 26: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing one and leaving two survivors, according to U.S. Southern Command. SOUTHCOM notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which initiated a search and rescue mission for the survivors.

May 8: U.S. Southern Command announced that it conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two and leaving one survivor. SOUTHCOM notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which began a search and rescue mission for the survivor.

May 5: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

May 4: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing two, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

April 2026

April 26: U.S. Southern Command announced in an X post that it conducted a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three.

April 24: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

April 19: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing three, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

April 15: U.S. Southern Command announced in an X post that it had launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three.

April 14: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing four, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

April 13: U.S. Southern Command announced in an X post that it had launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two.

April 11: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted two military strikes on two alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post. The first strike killed two and left one survivor, while the second strike killed three. SOUTHCOM informed the U.S. Coast Guard after the strikes that one survivor remained, and the USCG initiated a search and rescue attempt to retrieve the survivor. It’s unclear whether the survivor was found.

March 2026

March 25: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing four, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

March 19: U.S. Southern Command announced on X that Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving three survivors. SOUTHCOM contacted the U.S. Coast Guard following the strike to begin a search-and-rescue operation, the post said.

March 8: Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing six, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

February 2026

Feb. 23: U.S. Southern Command announced on X that Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing three.

Feb. 20: Joint Task Force Southern Spear, at the direction of U.S. Southern Command commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three, according to a SOUTHCOM X post.

Feb. 16: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched three military strikes against three alleged drug-carrying vessels, killing 11, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post. The first two strikes took place in the eastern Pacific Ocean, while the last took place in the Caribbean.

Feb. 13: U.S. Southern Command announced on X that Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing three.

Feb. 9: Joint Task Force Southern Spear destroyed an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two and leaving one survivor, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

SOUTHCOM notified the U.S. Coast Guard after the strike, which initiated a search-and-rescue mission for the survivor.

Feb. 5: U.S. Southern Command conducted a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two individuals, according to an X post. The strike was ordered by Gen. Francis Donovan, who assumed command of SOUTHCOM the same day.

January 2026

Jan. 23: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two and leaving one survivor, according to a U.S. Southern Command X post.

December 2025

Dec. 31: U.S. Southern Command conducted two lethal strikes against two alleged drug-carrying vessels, killing five, according to an X post. The location of the two strikes was not disclosed.

Dec. 30: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched three military strikes against three alleged drug-carrying vessels in “international waters,” killing three individuals in the first vessel, U.S. Southern Command said in an X post. After the first lethal strike, individuals aboard the remaining two vessels, identified as “narco-terrorists” by the SOUTHCOM post, jumped overboard. SOUTHCOM then contacted the U.S. Coast Guard to begin search and rescue attempts.

Dec. 29: U.S. Southern Command carried out a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two individuals, according to a SOUTHCOM X post.

Dec. 22: Joint Task Force Southern Spear, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing one individual, according to a U.S. Southern Command post on X.

Dec. 18: U.S. Southern Command confirmed in an X post that Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted two strikes against two alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five.

Dec. 17: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a military strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four, according to an X post from U.S. Southern Command.

Dec. 15: The U.S. military, at the direction of Hegseth, conducted three separate strikes against three alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight individuals that U.S. Southern Command labeled narco-terrorists in an X post.

Dec. 4: Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched a strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four individuals that U.S. Southern Command deemed narco-terrorists, according to a SOUTHCOM X post.

November 2025

Nov. 15: U.S. Southern Command confirmed in an X post that Joint Task Force Southern Spear destroyed an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three.

On Nov. 13, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear in a social media post.

“This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” the post read.

Nov. 10: The U.S. struck a vessel it accused of transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing four people, The Associated Press reported on Nov. 14. That’s according to a Pentagon official who AP stated was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Nov. 9: The U.S. military destroyed two alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean through two separate strikes, killing six, according to an X post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Nov. 6: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in an X post that the U.S. military carried out a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization in the Caribbean, killing three.

“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs,” the post read. “If you keep trafficking deadly drugs—we will kill you.”

Nov. 4: The U.S. military launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that the Trump administration said was operated by a designated terrorist organization in the eastern Pacific, killing two, according to an X post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Nov. 1: Hegseth said in a social media post that the U.S. military conducted a strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing three people.

October 2025

Oct. 29: The U.S. military struck an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing four. Hegseth announced the lethal strike in an X post, claiming intelligence showed the vessel to be carrying narcotics.

Oct. 27: The U.S. military launched three strikes against three alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 and leaving one survivor, Hegseth said in a post on X.

It was the first time multiple strikes occurred in one day and the second instance in which there was a survivor.

Oct. 24: The U.S. military conducted its tenth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that was purportedly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang and operating in the Caribbean, killing six people, according to Hegseth. That same day, the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Oct. 22: Hegseth announced a ninth strike against an alleged-drug carrying vessel and the second conducted in the eastern Pacific. The strike killed three people.

Oct. 21: The U.S. military conducted an eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two, according to a social media post from Hegseth.

It was the first strike to take place outside of the Caribbean.

Oct. 17: Hegseth confirmed in an X post that the U.S. military launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, killing three.

Those on board were affiliated with designated terrorist organization Ejército de Liberación Nacional, Hegseth claimed, calling the cartels the “Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.”

Oct. 16: The U.S. launched a sixth strike on an alleged drug-carrying submarine in the Caribbean, killing two and leaving survivors for the first time.

The Trump administration didn’t initially acknowledge the strike, with details first emerging from news reports.

The two survivors were initially picked up by the U.S. military before being repatriated to their countries.

On Truth Social, Trump confirmed the strike and said that U.S. intelligence confirmed the submarine contained fentanyl and other narcotics.

The same day as the sixth strike, Hegseth announced in an X post that U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey would be stepping down as the head of US. Southern Command.

Holsey had served in the position for less than a year at the time, overseeing military strikes in the Caribbean.

While Hegseth said in his X post that the admiral was retiring, the reason was unclear.

The New York Times reported that Holsey had voiced concerns about the U.S. military’s mission in Central and South America and the recent strikes on alleged drug boats off the Venezuelan coast.

Oct. 14: Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. military struck a small boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress voiced concerns over the legality of the strikes against the alleged drug-carrying vessels. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., asked for “the evidence linking them to being part of a gang” and for the names of those killed.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., labeled the strikes “illegal killings.”

Oct. 3: Hegseth announced a fourth strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing four.

He posted the information to X, including a video of the boat that was destroyed during the strike.

A Pentagon memo sent to congressional national security committees earlier in the week declared that Trump said the U.S. was involved in a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

“The President directed the Department of War to conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict,” the memo said. “The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations.”

September 2025

Sept. 19: Trump took to Truth Social to provide details about a third strike against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.

He announced the death of three individuals aboard the vessel, which he claimed was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking.”

Sept. 15: Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. military carried out a second lethal strike against an alleged drug boat coming from Venezuela, killing three on board.

Sept. 2: At an Oval Office event, Trump announced the first U.S. strike in the southern Caribbean against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela. Trump offered few details about the strike during his remarks at the event, but later said on Truth Social that 11 people belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang were killed. Trump included an unclassified video of the lethal strike on what appeared to be a small boat.

U.S. military operations in the southern Caribbean ramped up in late August 2025 when the U.S. deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers — USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and USS Sampson — to the waters off Venezuela.

Former Military Times reporter Carla Babb contributed to this report.

A U.S. Navy helicopter and a fighter jet assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz crashed in the South China Sea on Sunday in separate incidents less than an hour apart, the Navy said.

“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition,” U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a brief statement.

At approximately 2:45 p.m. local time, an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter attached to the Nimitz “went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations,” U.S. Pacific Fleet said. Assets assigned to the carrier’s strike group rescued the helicopter’s three crew members. The helicopter was assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73.

About 30 minutes later, at 3:15 p.m., an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet from the Strike Fighter Squadron 22 “Fighting Redcocks” also crashed in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations, according to the statement. Both crew members successfully ejected from the jet and were rescued, U.S. Pacific Fleet said.

The cause of both incidents are under investigation.

Maj. Tyler R. Braconi, 35, an AH-1Z Viper helicopter pilot assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, was killed when an AH-1Z Viper experienced an “aviation mishap” while conducting routine flight operations in support of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing officials said in a release Monday.

The helicopter, carrying a crew of two pilots, was near an unpopulated area of Imperial Gables, California, at the time of the incident Thursday night, officials said Friday. One pilot was transported to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, California, and was confirmed deceased, officials said at the time.

A second, unidentified Marine was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, and was in stable condition, officials said Friday.

The flight had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, where Braconi was stationed, the Marine Corps said Monday.

“We join the family of Maj. Tyler Braconi in mourning the unimaginable loss of a loved one. Our most valued asset is our people, the individual Marine, and Tyler was one of the greats,” Lt. Col. Christopher Hart, commanding officer of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, said in a statement. “We mourn the loss of a ‘Gunfighter,’ brave aviator, and leader that served our nation with humility, strength, and purpose. Our focus is supporting Tyler’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

A California native, Braconi commissioned in the Marine Corps in May 2012 and was promoted to the rank of major in June 2022, officials said. His previous assignments include Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 and service as an exchange pilot to the Australian Army.

Braconi’s decorations include the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with four bronze stars, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, according to the Marine Corps.

The incident is under investigation, officials said.

The Navy ended the active search at 12:40 p.m. Wednesday following “an extensive search” involving Navy personnel, the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Border Force, officials said in a brief release. The sailor was reported missing Monday as it was transiting the Timor Sea, located off Australia’s northern coast.

The carrier began search efforts after receiving reports of a possible sailor overboard, officials said in an earlier statement.

The sailor’s identity is being withheld until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification, per Navy policy.

“USS George Washington expresses sincere condolences to those impacted by this loss and is actively engaged with the crew to make services available to tend to their needs during this challenging time,” Lt. Cmdr. Mark Langford, spokesperson for the carrier, said in a statement.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to include a statement from the carrier’s spokesperson.

The aircraft carrier George Washington is conducting search-and-rescue operations in the Timor Sea for a sailor reported missing, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.

The carrier began search efforts after receiving reports of a possible sailor overboard, the Navy said in a brief release.

Units assigned to Carrier Strike Group 5, along with the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Border Force, are assisting in the effort.

The Navy did not disclose the missing sailor’s identity, in line with service policy.

The release did not disclose additional details about the specific location of the search.