A U.S. Navy training exercise in Jacksonville ended in tragedy on Tuesday after a rescue swimmer died while taking a course that would have requalified him for fleet duty.
Chief Petty Officer Pete Lagosh died during a training exercise at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Cmdr. Dawn Stankus, the public affairs officer for Naval Air Force Atlantic, confirmed to Newsweek.
The 41-year-old Lagosh was enrolled in the Navy's Surface Rescue Swimmer School Category II refresher course and was preparing for an assignment in Japan with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12.
The SRSS course is a two-week course for rescue swimmers who have been away from duty a year or more.
"We offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to the family, friends and shipmates of the Sailor during this difficult time," Stankus said. "Grief counseling services and support are available through the appropriate chains of command and through chaplains."
Lagosh graduated from Holy Family School in Cudahy, Wisconsin in 1997, according to a Facebook post in the school's alumni group.
Josh Hennlich met Lagosh around 1992, when Hennlich was in first grade and Lagosh was in third grade at the school.
"He was always a great guy who would bend over backward to help anyone, especially kids that were younger," Hennlich told Newsweek.
The two would play football together before school and during recess, Hennlich said. They were both involved in Cub Scouts as well.
"We attended many scouting activities from pinewood derby to camping trips. I remember he was always swimming on those summertime scout trips," Hennlich said.
Lagosh was also passionate about skateboarding, according to Hennlich.
"While attending the winter church festival, Peter was there, holding a skateboard and with a cast on his wrist," Hennlich said. "He told me to keep an eye out for his mom, he wasn't supposed to have that skateboard. Every time his mom would come around, I'd grab the board and try to make it seem like it was mine. Peter took a real liking to skateboarding and was influential in getting a skatepark put in at the local YMCA."
Hennlich recalled another one of his favorite memories with Lagosh.
"Peter's partner as a server at mass did not show. He asked me if I could assist him. Not having a clue what to do, he guided me through the whole process," Hennlich said. "We ended up being paired as [altar] servers for the next four years."
While the two grew apart after the two went to different high schools, Hennlich cherishes his memories with Lagosh.
"We lost a good one, but if we can take anything from it, he went out doing what he loved to do," Hennlich said.
Lagosh graduated from high school in 2001 and joined the Navy in 2007, according to a GoFundMe for the family's living and housing expenses, childcare and education costs.
"Pete was a loving father and husband, who always had a smile and was ready to lend a hand to anyone that needed it," the fundraiser's organizer, Christopher Wissing, said.
Lagosh served two tours as an MH-60S Aircrewman at Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28 and completed multiple deployments. He also served as a Fleet Replacement instructor.
Spike in military fatalities
The Navy and other branches of the military are grappling with an increase in fatal incidents in recent years. Navy officials faced questioning at a House of Representatives oversight hearing on Wednesday after a string of fatal crashes over the past two years involving the V-22 Osprey aircraft.
During the hearing, the head of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command Vice Adm. Carl Chebi announced that the Navy will begin testing on a new clutch design for the aircraft.
The aircraft, which combines the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft, was involved in four fatal accidents killing 20 military personnel over the past two years.
The families of some of the victims in one of those crashes are suing the manufacturers of the aircraft, Bell Textron and Boeing, and the engine manufacturer, Rolls-Royce.
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