By Corinne Reilly
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 20, 2011
A sailor was found dead Tuesday aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Enterprise, which is deployed in the Arabian Sea.
The Navy declined to identify the sailor but said in a news release that the sailor's family has been notified. It's not clear how the sailor died. The Navy is investigating what happened, the news release said.
No other details were provided. The Navy command that announced the death, the U.S. 5th Fleet, is headquartered in Bahrain. Calls to the 5th Fleet went unanswered Tuesday.
This is the second time in less than a month that an Enterprise sailor has been found dead on the carrier. Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent Filpi, 41, died March 22. He was married and had a son and five stepchildren.
The Navy has said his death wasn't combat-related and it wasn't indicative of a safety threat onboard the carrier. No other information has been made public.
In addition to the deaths, two Enterprise sailors have gone overboard in the past two weeks, the most recent one on Monday. Both were pulled from the water in good condition. The Navy hasn't disclosed any other details about the incidents except to say it's investigating them.
The Enterprise left Norfolk in January for a roughly six-month deployment. It's in the Arabian Sea supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My condolences, throughts, and prayers are with the family and shipmates of the deceased Sailor...
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