(CNN) -- A Marine lost at sea after bailing out of a MV-22 Osprey when it appeared it might crash in the Persian Gulf is believed to be the first American military casualty in support of U.S. operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Cpl. Jordan L. Spears,
21, was declared dead after search and rescue efforts to locate him were
unsuccessful, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement released Saturday.
Asked how Spears death will be classified, Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters the question was still being decided.
"Clearly, that squadron
and that ship were in the Gulf, supporting Central Command operations.
Some of those operations included operations in Iraq and Syria, at least
tangentially, through at least some tangential way, support to those
missions," Kirby said, according to a transcript.
A Marine is lost at sea after bailing out of a MV-22 Osprey.
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"So there's no question
that -- that this Marine's death is related to the operations that are
going on, in some form or fashion."
Even so, he said he did
not know whether the Marine's death would be formally classified as
such. The branch of service typically determines how a service member's
death is classified.
The military has not detailed the Osprey's mission at the time of the incident, which remains under investigation.
The Osprey, a tilt-rotor
aircraft, was deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready
Group "supporting operations in Iraq and Syria and throughout the
region," the statement said.
Spears, a crew chief,
went missing Wednesday when the Osprey lost power shortly after takeoff
from the USS Makin Island and dropped toward the water, according to the
Navy.
Spears and another crew member went into the water when it appeared the Osprey was about to crash, the Navy said.
The pilots managed to get control of the Osprey and land it safely, according to the statement.
Search and rescue crews found one crew member in the water, but were unable to locate Spears of Memphis, Indiana, it said.
"U.S. forces in the
North Persian Gulf suspended a search and rescue operation for Spears
Oct. 2, after efforts to locate him were unsuccessful," according to the
statement.
Spears was assigned to
Marine Tiltrotor Squadron 163, Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Aircraft Wing with
the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar,
California.
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