A sailor died Sunday while training with the Marine Corps at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, the Navy announced Wednesday.
Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler, 29, of Oklahoma, assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One, was participating in the third phase of Marine Corps Reconnaissance Leaders Course, at the time of his death, said 1st Lt. Phillip Parker, a spokesman for the Training and Education Command, HQ Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps Reconnaissance Leaders Course is an 8-week long training that takes place in multiple locations. During the course, participants go through exercises that focus on planning and leading teams through amphibious, ground reconnaissance and patrolling operations, Parker told USNI News in an email.
The third phase, which takes place in Hawaii, includes amphibious operations, Parker said.
“We offer our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Lt. j.g. Fowler and multiple investigations into his cause of death are currently underway,” he said in the email.
NCIS and local authorities are investigating the death, according to a Navy statement.
Fowler commissioned from the Naval Academy on May 25, 2018. He started with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One in January 2022, according to the press release.
The explosive ordnance unit was his first unit, according to his Navy biography. Since commissioning, he attended post-graduate school and training until January.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to Aaron’s family and friends, and we join them in remembering and mourning this brave warrior,” said Rear Adm. Joseph Diguardo, commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, 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.”
