Four days after a sailor who helped conduct counter piracy plans was lost at sea, U.S. Naval Forces have finally identified him as engineman first class Theophilus Kwaku Ansong of Bristow, Va.
On the morning of February 4, Ansong, along with two of his naval colleagues from the USS San Antonio, was thrown from an 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boat when it flipped as it was being lowered into the water in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Bahrain.
The two sailors were located and rescued.
Despite a search and rescue operation that lasted over 24 hours, Ansong was not found. Neither was his identity, until now.
Naval Forces say a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of this accident.
Petty Officer Ansong entered the Navy February 23, 1999. During his time in the Navy, he won several awards and medals, including the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Armed Forces Service Medal.
The USS San Antonio has been operating in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in the Gulf of Aden since late September. Most recently, the ship served as the flagship for Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), conducting counter piracy operations.
