U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet

The U.S. Navy suspended the active search for a Sailor assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 embarked aboard aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), effective 3:00p.m. AST on July 5, 2026. The Sailor was reported missing July 1st, after an MH-60S helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea. The efforts concluded following an extensive search by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The Sailor’s name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete in accordance with Navy policy.

For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted. The efforts brought together the USS George H.W. Bush carrier’s HSC 5 and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 46, the fixed wing aircraft of Carrier Air Wings (CVW) 7 and 9, aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) helicopter squadrons HSC 14 and HSM 71, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Ross (DDG 71), USS Donald Cook (DDG 75), USS Higgins (DDG 76), USS Mason (DDG 87), and USS John Finn (DDG 113) with HSM 51, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons, and multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft.

U.S. Navy Assists in Rescue of 14 Indian Mariners in Northern Arabian Sea An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter, attached to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), and Motor Vessel Jabal Ali 9 provide assistance to distressed mariners in the Northern Arabian Sea, June 14. (U.S. Navy photo)

This Memorial Day weekend, CENTCOM remembers and honors the lives and legacies of service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.