Navy Seal Killed in Training Accident

30 Mar, 2013

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brett D. Shadle always had wanted to be a member of the Navy’s most elite special forces unit. A year after enlisting, he made it happen and went on to become a highly decorated member of the Navy’s famed SEAL Team 6.

U.S. military officials confirmed Saturday that Shadle, a 31-year-old special warfare operator chief, died Thursday when he and another SEAL collided in midair during a parachute training exercise over the rugged desert of southern Arizona.

Shadle was taken to University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, where he was pronounced dead. The other SEAL – an unidentified E-6 petty officer first class – remained in stable condition Saturday at the Tucson hospital.

Military officials said the accident was under investigation. Shadle and a fellow SEAL were practicing “routine military free-fall training” when the accident occurred Thursday afternoon, said U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Kenneth McGraw. The SEALs collided in midair and landed in separate areas.

Family members said Shadle, of Elizabethville, Pa., was stationed in Virginia. He was married and had a 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

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