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Marine Cpl. Jordan L. Spears
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Spears, 21, and another aircrew member bailed out of an MV-22 Osprey when it lost power shortly after take off from the USS Makin Island on Oct. 1. Navy and Marine Corps teams rescued the other Marine but were unable to find Spears. He was presumed lost at sea after the search ended. The pilot of the Osprey regained control and returned to the ship.
The plane was operating in support of the mission in Iraq and Syria, Navy officials said at the time. But the operation had not yet been named, so Spears’ death was classified as a non-global war on terrorism casualty, according to the DOD.
On Oct. 15, more than two months after the U.S. began launching air strikes against the Islamic State, the Pentagon named the operation Inherent Resolve.
Ten days later, Lance Cpl. Sean P. Neal, 19, died in a “non-combat related incident” in Baghdad (Please see below...OM). Neal’s death was described by some media outlets as the first death of an American servicemember since Operation Inherent Resolve had been named, and others as the first death of a servicemember in the fight against the Islamic State, which prompted the Marines to look into reclassifying Spears’ death, a Marine spokesman said.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Capt. Eric Flanagan said.
Spears, of Memphis, Indiana, was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron-163, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
Neal, of Riverside, Calif., was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment out of Twentynine Palms, Calif.
DOD: Marine's death 1st in Iraq, 2nd since start of US campaign against Islamic State
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| Lance Cpl. Sean P. Neal is the Marine identified as having died on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, in Baghdad from a non-combat related incident, the military said in a release.
The Defense Department has announced the first death of an American servicemember in Iraq in the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State militant group.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Sean P. Neal, 19, of Riverside, Calif., died Thursday in Baghdad from what the DOD described in a news release issued Friday night as a “non-combat related incident.” The DOD is investigating.
He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force — Crisis Response — Central Command, whose headquarters element deploys from Camp Pendleton, Calif., according to the DOD news release.
Neal’s death is the second since the campaign began on Aug. 8. The effort was named Operation Inherent Resolve on Oct. 15.
On Oct. 2, a Marine was presumed lost at sea after bailing out of a MV-22 Osprey that lost power after taking off from the USS Makin Island in the Persian Gulf a day earlier.
Cpl. Jordan L. Spears, 21, of Memphis, Ind., was one of two aircrew members who went into the water when the Osprey’s pilot lost control of the aircraft, which the Navy said was participating in flight operations in support of the missions over Iraq and Syria. The pilot regained control of the Osprey, and the other aircrew member was recovered.
“Cpl. Spears was a cherished member of our MEU family, and he fulfilled a key role in our aviation combat element,” Col. Matthew Trollinger, commander of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, wrote on the unit’s official Facebook page.
The Makin Island arrived in the Middle East in September to participate in operations against the Islamic State.
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A serviceman who dies while in support of missions over a combat area should be classified as a combat loss.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you a 100%, unfortunately I feel that too much politics are entering into our armed forces.
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