Slain Navy SEAL hero to be advanced to chief

The Navy SEAL killed in action against ISIS in Iraq last week will be posthumously promoted to chief petty officer, the chief of naval personnel’s office announced Wednesday.

Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Charlie Keating IV, 31, who came in contact with fighters May 3 as part of a quick-reaction force backing up American troops advising Kurdistani fighters, was board-eligible for chief petty officer at the time of his death, prompting the Navy’s decision, a spokesman for CNP told Navy Times.

“Posthumously promoting Petty Officer Keating is simply the right thing to do,” Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said of the honor.

Keating passed his chief advancement exam but wasn’t selected for June’s screening board. However, “based on his personnel evaluations and operational assignments, there is good reason to believe he would have been,” Christensen added.

The advancement is effective retroactively to May 3, he said, but Keating’s family will not receive E-7 pay or benefits as a result.

Read More- Navy Times

Image courtesy of US Navy via AP