US service member dies during training event in Hawaii

By Ellie Kaufman, CNN

A US service member died while participating in a training event at the Marine Corps base in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on Sunday, a statement from the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Public Affairs said.

The service member, Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler, became unresponsive during the training event and was pronounced dead at the hospital, the release said. He was 29 years old.

Fowler, a US Navy service member, joined in 2012 and became a commissioned officer after graduating from the Naval Academy in May 2018. He reported to the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit in January 2022.

The incident is “under investigation” by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and local authorities, the release said. The US Navy did not say what Fowler was doing when he became unresponsive during the training event or provide details about the training event.

The unit of the Navy that Fowler was part of, based in San Diego, clears “explosive hazards to provide access to denied areas,” and also secures “the undersea domain for freedom of maneuver, building and fostering relationships with capable partners and protecting” the US, the release said.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to Aaron’s family and friends, and we join them in remembering and mourning this brave warrior,” Rear Adm. Joseph Diguardo Jr., commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, said in the release. “His decision to join this elite special operations community was a testament to the dedicated and selfless character he embodied and his legacy will endure in our ranks through those he inspired by his service.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong branch of the service that Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler was a member of. He was in the Navy.

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