Scott Andrew Stearney (October 21, 1960 – December 1, 2018) was an American naval aviator and vice admiral of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

who served as commander of the Fifth Fleet based in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Early life and education

Stearney was a native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. He graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics prior to commissioning in the

in October 1982. He subsequently entered flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in April 1984. He graduated from

Navy Fighter Weapons School The United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), more popularly known as Top Gun (stylized as TOPGUN), teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers, wh ...

and held a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Naval career

Stearney served in numerous strike fighter squadrons flying the

FA-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now ...

. His fleet assignments included 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 (CCG-4). He commanded the Wildcats of VFA-131 and

Carrier Air Wing Seven Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. At the moment, CVW-7 is assigned to the USS George H. W. Bush. The tail code of aircraft assigned to CVW-7 is AG. Mis ...

(CVW-7) embarked on (CVN-69). He served in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Afghanistan, as chief of staff of

Joint Task Force 435 Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 is a subordinate command of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and includes U.S. service members from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, plus Department of Defense civilians, contractors and Coal ...

(JTF 435) and later Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 (CJIATF 435). Ashore, Stearney served as instructor and readiness officer at

, aide-de-camp to the Chief of Naval Operations, deputy director J6

United States Joint Forces Command United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray O ...

, executive assistant to deputy commander, United States Joint Forces Command and chief of staff, Strike Force Training Atlantic. Stearney's flag assignments included: commander,

United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987. The USTRANSCO ...

Joint Enabling Capabilities Command Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC) is a subordinate command of United States Transportation Command, headquartered at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. It was previously part of United States Joint Forces Command. It developed from the Standi ...

; commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic; commander,

Carrier Strike Group 4 Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

(CCSG-4); commander, Navy Warfare Development Command; and director of operations,

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

Task Force 51-5 Change of Command Ceremony 180703-M-AR450-1120

Stearney served as commander,

United States Naval Forces Central Command United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...

United States Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...

, and Combined Maritime Forces from May 2018 until his death on December 1, 2018. Stearney's military decorations included the Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with three Gold Stars, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with strike/flight numeral 3, the

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

with two Gold Stars, the

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

, as well as other commendations and multiple service medals. He accumulated more than 4,500 mishap-free flight hours and over 1,000 carrier arrested landings.

Death

Stearney was found dead in his home in Bahrain on December 1, 2018, in an apparent suicide. Rear Admiral

Paul J. Schlise Paul J. Schlise (born 1966) is a rear admiral in the United States Navy. Personal life Schlise is originally from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He received a civilian education at Marquette University, earning a bachelor's degree from the College of B ...

, the deputy commander, assumed command of the Fifth Fleet in his stead. His death was investigated by the

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps, though its ...

(NCIS) and the Ministry of the Interior of Bahrain. NCIS concluded his death was the result of suicide. Stearney was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on December 20, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearney, Scott 1960 births 2018 suicides Military personnel from Chicago University of Notre Dame alumni Aviators from Illinois United States Naval Aviators National Defense University alumni United States Navy vice admirals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American military personnel who committed suicide