The U.S. Navy has identified Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards as the missing sailor who was aboard a helicopter that went down in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
Commander Edwards was the top officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5. He was declared missing after three members of his four-person MH-60S Seahawk helicopter crew were rescued at sea after what the Navy said was an emergency water landing during a routine patrol. He is now presumed to be dead.
In a statement on Sunday, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said Navy and Air Force personnel had searched over 14,000 square miles for more than 100 hours before calling off the rescue operation. Military officials have said the incident was not the result of hostile fire, and that the cause of the crash was under investigation.
The acting secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, said in a statement on Tuesday that he had directed that Commander Edwards be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.
The death of Commander Edwards brought the number of service members who have died in the war against Iran to 14.
Commander Edwards, a native of Oakland, Ore., graduated in 2006 from Norfolk State University with a bachelor’s degree in physics and was commissioned through the Naval R.O.T.C., according to the Navy statement on Tuesday. He served in several helicopter assignments in his career and also served as a ground controller spotting targets for Special Operations missions. He assumed command of Combat Squadron 5 in July 2025.
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