A sailor on board the dock landing ship Harpers Ferry was discovered in the ship's armory Thursday yesterday morning with what was likely a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to two Navy officials familiar with an internal Navy report.

The name of the sailor is being withheld pending next-of-kin notifications, a Naval Forces Central Command release said.

The sailor was declared dead Thursday at around 7:39 a.m. local time, the release said. The death is not combat related; there is no suspicion of foul play.

A Navy spokesman cautioned that the investigation is ongoing.

"The actual cause of death will not be known until the investigation is complete," said Lt. Loren Terry.

The Harpers Ferry is part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, which deployed Feb. 12 from San Diego. The death occurred while the ship was steaming in the Gulf of Aqaba.

The sailor's death is the first underway fatality since a woman assigned to the dock landing ship Carter Hall was lost at sea near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The woman's disappearance tipped off a massive search and rescue effort that lasted three days but came up empty.

David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.

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