Vice Admiral Scott Stearney was found dead in his residence in Bahrain Saturday and no foul play is suspected, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said in a statement. Richardson said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bahraini Ministry of Interior are cooperating in the investigation. Most recently, Stearney was commander, U.S. "This is devastating news for the Stearney family, for the team at Fifth Fleet, and for the entire Navy," Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, told CNN Saturday. "Adm. Stearney was a decorated professional and a devoted father, a devoted husband and a good friend." He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics prior to commissioning in the U.S. Navy in October 1982. His fleet assignments include the Golden Warriors of Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-87, the Knighthawks of Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-136 and strike warfare officer for commander, Carrier Group 4. Team, it's my sad duty to inform you that today the Secretary of the Navy and I were informed that Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, our commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, is rendered honors on the quarterdeck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) on Oct. 24, 2018. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Clay / USS Jason Dunham (DDG109) 
 
 He served in Kabul, Afghanistan, as chief of staff of Joint Task Force 435 and later Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435. Ashore, Stearney served as instructor and readiness officer at Navy Fighter Weapons School, aide de camp to the chief of naval operations, deputy director J6 U.S. Joint Forces Command, executive assistant to deputy commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command and chief of staff, Strike Force Training Atlantic. Stearney’s past assignments included commander of the U.S. Transportation Command’s Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, commander of Strike Force Training Atlantic, commander of Carrier Strike Group and commander of Navy Warfare Development Command, and director of operations of U.S. Central Command, the Navy said.
– The admiral leading American Naval forces in the Middle East turned up dead at his Bahrain residence Saturday, CNN reports. Vice Adm. Scott Stearney's death is under investigation, but media reports say there's no evidence of foul play. "This is devastating news for the Stearney family, for the team at Fifth Fleet, and for the entire Navy," says Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations. The Fifth Fleet is part of the US Navy's Naval Forces Central Command, which controls operations in areas including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. America sees those Naval Forces as a deterrent to Iran and Iran-supported Houthi rebels, which are considered possible threats to regional shipping. Stearney, a 36-year Navy veteran, took command in the Middle East in May and led more than 200,000 US service members and civilians, per NBC News. The Navy website says he was a Chicago native who graduated from the University of Notre Dame and in 1982 entered the Navy, where he was an aviator and flew the FA-18 Hornet in strike fighter squadrons. He has served several commands and was chief of staff of a Joint Task Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are looking into his death, Reuters reports. (Meanwhile, $7M legwear is supposed to turn US troops into "super soldiers.")