The Navy has identified a young sailor found dead Saturday aboard the carrier USS John C. Stennis.
The sailor was Engineman Fireman Recruit Akiree Pointer, Navy officials said in a statement Tuesday night. Pointer was 22, according to the Kitsap Sun, which first identified the sailor.
Stennis was in its Bremerton, Washington, homeport at the time of Pointer's death. The carrier completed a six-month maintenance period in August and had been training in preparation of its next deployment.
"John C. Stennis and the Navy convey their condolences to the sailor's family and friends in their time of loss," carrier officials said in a brief statement.
According to Pointer's Facebook profile, which shows him in Navy uniform and features videos of him discussing his future duty station in Bremerton, he studied at Texas Southern University and Tarrant County College before joining the service.
Stennis was Pointer's first duty station after completing boot camp at Naval Recruit Training Center in Great Lakes, Illinois.
Officials are now in the process of investigating his death.
-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
