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Navy IDs SEAL killed in weapons training

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Officials on Friday identified the Navy SEAL shot and killed Wednesday during a live-fire training exercise as Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Shapoor Alexander Ghane Jr.

Ghane, 22, of Las Vegas, died after he was hit by gunfire about 2 p.m. Wednesday during a close-combat training exercise at the Mid-South Institute of Self-Defense Shooting near Lake Cormorant, Miss., said Lt. Tommy Crosby, a Naval Special Warfare Group 1 spokesman in Coronado, Calif. Ghane was evacuated by helicopter form the shooting facility to the Elvis Presley Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., where he was pronounced dead, Crosby said.

The Navy and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the incident.

Navy SEALs and other elite special operations forces, as well as police units, often train for close-quarters battle at military or contractor-run shoot houses and ranges, sometimes with live ammunition or with blanks or chalk rounds at very short range.

The Mid-South Institute has been training military and law enforcement shooters for more than 15 years, according to the company’s Web site.

Ghane was assigned to a Coronado-based SEAL team.

“Alex Ghane will always be remembered as a true friend and a dedicated SEAL,” Ghane’s naval special warfare task unit operational commander, who was not identified by name, said in a statement. “He was particularly proud of earning his Trident and would do anything asked of him with a smile. Alex died doing what he loved. He died a SEAL, with his teammates around him. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family.”

Ghane enlisted June 30, 2004, and graduated with Class 256 from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL. He earned several military awards and decorations, including the Navy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Expert Rifleman Marksmanship Medal and Expert Pistol Marksmanship Medal, the Navy said.

One of his superiors remembers him as “a dedicated young man who embodied the word ‘teammate,’ ” the troop senior enlisted adviser said in a statement. Ghane “was equally quick with a joke or an offer to help. He overcame more than most to become a SEAL, and his drive and infectious energy served as an example to everyone who had the privilege of working with him. He will be sorely missed.”

Ghane is survived by his mother, Farideh Ghane, sister Tala Ghane and fiancée Tina Borys.

“Our family is devastated at the sudden loss,” his family said in a statement released by the Navy. “He was a wonderful son, great brother, and true patriot. Alexander enjoyed life and loved being a Navy SEAL. He had a kind and generous soul which will be missed dearly. We are proud of him, proud of all his accomplishments and the man that he had become. Though his life has been cut short, we will forever cherish the time we had with him.”