47<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Navy\u00a0called off\u00a0the search July 5 after more than 102 hours of round-the-clock search and rescue efforts over an area covering more than 14,000 square miles.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation, but \u201cthere is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action,\u201d the Navy said.
\u201cOur deepest gratitude and sympathy go out to his family, who should know that Gabe led his squadron, the HSC-5 \u2018Nightdippers,\u2019 with integrity and fortitude,\u201d Capt. Matthew Lewis added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Edwards was commissioned through the Naval ROTC program after graduating from Norfolk State University in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He earned his aviator \u201cWings of Gold\u201d in 2008 as a helicopter pilot and served with HSC-22, the \u201cSea Knights,\u201d and HSC-84, the \u201cRed Wolves\u201d; Naval Special Warfare Group 4 as the air-to-ground fires office and Joint Terminal Attack Controller; HSC-85, the \u201cFirehawks,\u201d and took command of HSC-5, the \u201cNightdippers,\u201d in July 2025, his last command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Edwards was selected for promotion to Captain in FY 2027 as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He leaves behind his wife, Rebecca Edwards, and two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are profoundly grateful to every Sailor, aviator, and Airman who devoted countless hours, extraordinary skill, and unwavering determination in the effort to bring Gabe home,\u201d Rebecca Edwards said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGabe has dedicated his life to serving his country with honor, courage, and commitment,\u201d Edwards added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no evidence that hostile action was involved in the emergency landing, although the cause is still under investigation, military officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Equally remarkable is what the Navy didn\u2019t say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No cause has been given for the emergency landing. There is no explanation for the loss of one crew member and the recovery of the other four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The loss raised to 14 the official American toll of war dead in the fighting with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number has slowly risen as U.S. forces operate across a volatile theater that stretches from the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz and into the broader Central Command footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been harrowing episodes already in this conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Trump had previously promised to jail a leaker who disclosed a live rescue operation of a downed pilot in Iran, an act that highlighted the peril for American pilots and the security threat of unauthorized disclosures during active missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campaign has seen flash points in the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. naval forces have had multiple encounters with Iranian forces, including the sinking of Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz as the administration warned Tehran of rising consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. still wants a diplomatic solution, while President Trump wants to make a deal with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US President used a late-night Thanksgiving post on Thursday in order to revive some of his harshest immigration rhetoric, targeting political rivals and calling for what he described as a permanent pause on migration from what he called \u201call Third World Countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He began his Truth Social post with a typical holiday wish, but it soon turned into a long rant about immigration, rising crime, and his political rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump stated his proposed migration freeze was prompted by a fatal shooting in Washington, D.C., in which the suspect is an Afghan national. He criticized \u201cAmerican Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up,\u201d suggesting that lenient immigration policies were to blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 79-year-old president also returned to his usual talking points, repeating complaints about Somalia and Somali immigrants living in Minnesota. Earlier that evening, he told reporters that \u201cSomalians have caused a lot of trouble\u201d and asserted: \u201cWe\u2019re not accepting their people anymore. We\u2019re sending many of them back because they only bring problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nTrump continued to claim that Minnesota had become a \u201chub of fraudulent money laundering activity\u201d and argued that Somali refugees were \u201ccompletely taking over\u201d the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump Targets Gov. Tim Walz With Offensive Slur<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn one of the most inflammatory moments of his Thanksgiving message, the president Trump used an offensive slur to attack Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Frustrated by what he called politically correct immigration policies, Trump wrote that \u201cThe seriously r******d Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walz responded on X by reposting the message with the caption \u201cRelease the MRI results,\u201d referencing Trump\u2019s acknowledgment that he recently underwent an MRI without specifying the reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar and Immigration Policy<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\nTrump directed insults at Minnesota Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He labeled her \u201cthe worst \u2018Congressman\/woman\u2019 in our Country\u201d and mocked her attire, saying she was \u201calways wrapped in her swaddling hijab.\u201d He described her birthplace as a \u201cdecadent, backward, and crime ridden nation\u201d and accused her of constantly complaining about America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president went on to place blame on immigration policies, criticizing the arrival of Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man accused in the recent D.C. shooting. According to CNN, Lakanwal applied for asylum in 2024 and was granted it by the Trump administration in April 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a reporter noted that federal agencies reported thorough vetting of Afghan arrivals, Trump called her \u201cstupid\u201d and avoided confirming whether the suspect\u2019s asylum approval occurred under his watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTrump, in his post, argued that many immigrants come from \u201cfailed nations or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels\u201d and rely on what he described as \u201cmassive\u201d welfare payments. After that, he renewed his call to \u201cpermanently pause migration\u201d from all \u201cThird World countries\u201d, a step he said was necessary to \u201callow the U.S. system to fully recover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said more that his administration would deport any foreign national deemed a security risk, a public charge, or \u201cnon-compatible with Western Civilization,\u201d concluding that \u201conly REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier on Thursday, Trump ordered a sweeping review of all green card holders from \u201ccountries of concern.\u201d Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow said the reexamination would be \u201cfull-scale\u201d and argued that American safety was \u201cnon-negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Closing his holiday message, Trum wrote: \u201cOther than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for \u2014 You won\u2019t be here for long!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Navy has identified the airman who went missing over the Arabian Sea earlier this month as Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, the service announced Wednesday.Edwards, a native… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7774,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7771\/revisions\/7774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyzone24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}