U.S. Navy Identifies Missing Sailor in July Helicopter Incident
The U.S. Navy has identified Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards as the missing sailor from a helicopter that crashed in the Arabian Sea on July 1. The commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Edwards was among four-person MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter crew when three members were rescued after an emergency water landing.
The search for Edwards lasted over 102 hours before it was suspended, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. Carrier Strike Group 10 commander Rear Adm. Todd Cimicata expressed the team’s support and remembered Edwards as a “fearless leader.”
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao directed that Edwards be posthumously promoted to captain. The search covered over 14,000 square miles involving multiple aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, helicopter squadrons, anti-submarine squadrons, and U.S. Air Force aircraft.
Edwards, an Oakland, Oregon native with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, was commissioned through the Naval ROTC. He earned his aviator “Wings of Gold” in 2008 as a helicopter pilot and served with HSC-22, HSC-84, Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) 4, HSC-85, and assumed command of HSC-5 in July last year.
The three rescued crew members were returned to the USS George H.W. Bush. The cause of the emergency landing is under investigation, with no indication that it was shot down by hostile action.
Edwards is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and two children. His family expressed profound gratitude for those who served in the search effort.