National Defense

Death Of Two Navy SEALs Trying To Intercept Houthi Weapons Was Preventable, Probe Finds

(Screen Capture/U.S. Navy)

The deaths of two U.S. Navy SEALs who drowned while trying to intercept Houthi weapons in January were preventable, a new investigation reviewed by The Associated Press found.

The two SEALs — Chief Special Warfare Operator Christopher Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Nathan Gage Ingram — were on a mission to board and raid a seafaring vessel carrying weapons for the Iranian-backed Houthis near Yemen, but the operation went awry and ended with the servicemembers tragically drowning. The results of a military investigation, as reviewed by the AP, show that Chambers and Ingram died because of serious training failures and misguided operational decisions.

Specifically, Chambers and Ingram drowned because they were weighed down by their equipment and apparently did not realize that their emergency flotation devices weren’t equipped to keep them buoyant with the additional weight, according to the AP.

“Deficiencies, gaps and inconsistencies” in training and operational procedures — as well as “conflicting guidance” on how to use their emergency flotation systems — contributed to the deadly accident, the results of the investigation reads, according to the AP, which obtained a copy of the report ahead of its public release. During the operation, Chambers fell into the water as he was boarding the ship, and Ingram jumped in after him.

“Encumbered by the weight of each individual’s gear, neither their physical capability nor emergency supplemental flotations devices, if activated, were sufficient to keep them at the surface,” the report reads, according to the AP. “The entire tragic event elapsed in just 47 seconds and two [Naval Special Warfare Command] warriors were lost to the sea.”

SEAL operatives were in “shock and disbelief” that Chambers, the team’s strongest swimmer, could not stay afloat, according to the report obtained by the AP. The elite team mobilized to conduct man-overboard operations “within seconds,” but after 10 days of search and rescue, it was determined that there was a low likelihood Chambers and Ingram would be found.

“The Navy respects the sanctity of human remains and recognized the sea as a fit and final resting place,” the report reads, according to the AP. Both Chambers and Ingram were post-humously promoted.

In light of the investigation’s findings, Naval Special Warfare Command has said it’s making changes to training, including potentially creating a policy for the command’s members to address safety procedures during maritime operations, according to the AP. Rear Adm. Keith Davids, who was the head of the command in January, said that lessons would be learned from tragedy and that recommended policy changes would be “doggedly pursue[d].”

The Houthis, a Yemen-based terrorist organization, have been a source of problems for the U.S. for a long time but especially in the last year. The Houthis have launched a series of attacks against U.S., Israeli and Western forces in the region since last October out of support for Hamas, which invaded Israel at the time and killed approximately 1,200 people.

The Houthis have also disrupted the global economy in the last year by attacking merchant vessels traversing through the Red Sea, effectively forcing them to reroute on much longer and costly paths.

The Biden-Harris administration removed the Houthis from its Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2021.

The Naval Special Warfare Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/U.S. Navy)