Navy Identifies USS McCain Sailor Who Died, Those Still Missing

The Navy has identified one sailor who died aboard the U.S.S. John S. McCain earlier this week and nine others who are still missing. Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts have been suspended. Electronics Technician 3rd Class Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from New Jersey, has been identified as having died when the McCain collided with a merchant vessel on Monday.

Still missing are:

• Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Missouri
• Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from Texas
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Maryland
• Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Ohio
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Maryland
• Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from New York
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Connecticut
• Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Texas
• Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Illinois

The McCain collided with the Alnic MC on Monday in the South China Sea. The McCain was headed to Singapore for a routine port call.

US Navy Confirms One Of The Missing USS John S. McCain Sailors Died

The bodies of some of the missing sailors have been located inside of the McCain.

Meanwhile, the Navy announced Thursday that it has suspended search and rescue efforts and shifted to recovery after more than 80 hours of a multinational effort. The Navy says that it has searched a 2,100-square-mile area.

Efforts to recover the bodies of sailors from inside flooded compartments within the McCain will continue.

Earlier this week, the admiral in charge of the United States Navy's 7th Fleet, Joseph Aucoin, was relieved of his command. The move followed the crash of the McCain and a second fatal collision just more than two months ago.

See Also: Navy Dismisses A High-Ranking Official Following Pacific Accidents

Seven sailors died in June when the U.S.S. Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel about 56 nautical miles from its port in Yokosuka, Japan.

The decision to remove Aucoin was made by Adm. Scott Swift, the commander of the Pacific Fleet. The 7th fleet is based in Yokosuna, Japan. Its nearly 70 ships cover nearly 50 million square miles in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The statement from the Navy cited "a loss of confidence" in Aucoin's "ability to command."

The crash led Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson to order a pause in operations for the Navy's nearly 300 ships.

"This trend demands more forceful action," Richardson said. "As such, I have directed an operational pause be taken in all of our fleets around the world."

Richardson said there would also be a review to address what the "root causes" of these accidents are and that there would be a "very tight timeline."

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Richardson said. "So let's get to it."

Richardson had appointed Adm. Phil Davidson to conduct a separate investigation into the 7th Fleet to determine its readiness for missions.

Swift, who is in Singapore overseeing the probe, ordered Davidson's investigation to look at the entire Pacific fleet.

The crash involving the McCain was the second in just over two months involving a destroyer from the 7th Fleet.

Last week, the Navy announced the preliminary results of one of several ongoing probes into the incident involving the Fitzgerald, finding cause to relieve three of the ship's top commanders of their duty.

The Navy said this week that the Fitzgerald will be transported to a shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, for repairs.

It's not known yet how long the repairs will take or how much they will cost.

There have been two other incidents this year. In May, the Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing ship in an incident that had no injuries, and in February, the Antietam, another guided missile ship, ran ashore in Tokyo Bay, spilling hundreds of gallons of fuel.

The four crashes led the House Armed Services Committee to schedule a hearing for Sept. 7 to examine "Navy Readiness - Underlying Problems Associated with the USS Fitzgerald and USS McCain."

Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden, the Navy's commander of Naval Surface Forces and John Pendleton, the Government Accounting Office's director of defense force structure and readiness issues, are both scheduled to testify.

Photo courtesy United States Navy