December 2019 death of Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, ruled a suicide
Death of Former 5th Fleet CO Stearney Ruled a Suicide
6/12/2019
https://news.usni.org/2019/06/12/death-of-former-5th-fleet-co-stearney-ruled-a-suicide
FTA (more at link)
THE PENTAGON — The death of the former commander of U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East has been ruled a suicide, according to a February Navy report obtained by USNI News on Wednesday.
The preliminary inquiry into the Dec. 1 death of Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, led by NCIS agents in Bahrain, determined that the former 5th Fleet commander had killed himself in his quarters.
“Stearney was found deceased in his personal residence located in Janabiya, Bahrain. Per materials reviewed, the cause of death was determined to be [redacted] suicide[redacted],” read the Feb. 4 investigation.
“The timeline of events and witness statements support this conclusion. [Redacted] indicating his intent to commit suicide. No information uncovered during the subsequent NCIS investigation, including multiple interviews and forensic analysis of VADM Stearney’s electronic devices, contradicted this finding.”
Navy Times was first to report on the investigation’s findings.
Questions left with U.S. 5th Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. Joshua Frey as to why the command waited four months to acknowledge the determination of the investigation were not immediately returned. In April, an NCIS spokesperson told USNI News the investigation into the death was still open.
Stearney had previously served as director of operations at U.S. Central Command in MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. He was a 1982 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Stearney was designated a Naval Aviator in April 1984, and flew more than 4,500 hours, accumulating more than 1,000 carrier-arrested landings while flying F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters.
His served at sea aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), USS George Washington (CVN-73) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Ashore, Stearney served as tactics instructor and readiness officer at Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).