The United States Navy has confirmed that a sailor onboard the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer, has been lost after going overboard into the Red Sea on March 20th.
The Department of Defense initially made this announcement:
“Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Oriola Michael Aregbesola, 34, of Miramar, Florida, died March 20, 2024, as a result of a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
Aregbesola was assigned to USS Mason deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.“
The commanding officer of HMS-74, Cmdr. Eric Kohut, also made this announcement:
“Petty Officer Aregbesola fully embodied the selfless character and thoughtful warrior spirit of the United States Navy Sailor …His outstanding performance prior to and during deployment went well beyond aircraft maintenance; he truly saw and valued every member of the ship/air team. He will continue on in the heart of every Swamp Fox and our brothers and sisters in the IKE Carrier Strike Group. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
This now raises the death toll on Red Sea operations to three following the January loss of two Navy Seals after they went overboard during a search and seizure operation on a suspected weapons smuggling vessel off the coast of Somalia, related to Houthi shipments.
Helicopter Maritime Strike Seven Four (HSM-74), the “Swamp Foxes”, is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida. HSM-74 is attached to Carrier Air Wing Three and deploys aboard cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and aircraft carriers in support of a carrier strike group.
