MIDDLE EAST. (THECOUNT) — Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, the Navy’s top officer overseeing forces in the Middle East, died Saturday in what defense officials now call an “apparent suicide,” CBS News reports.
Stearney, who was the commander of the military branch’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, was found dead in his residence, the Navy confirmed earlier on Saturday. Paul Schlise, the deputy commander of Fifth Fleet, will assume command in his place.
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The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating Stearney’s death in addition to the Bahraini Ministry of Interior.
However, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said in a statement that “no foul play is suspected” in his death.
He also called his death “devastating news” for Stearney’s family, the Fifth Fleet team “and for the entire Navy.”
“Scott Stearney was a decorated naval warrior,” Richardson continued. “He was a devoted husband and father, and he was a good friend to all of us.” source
Stearney joined the Navy in 1982 and served for 36 years.
The admiral oversaw thousands of U.S. sailors and other forces as commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and served previously as the operations director of U.S. Central Command, as well as chief of staff for joint task forces in Afghanistan.