The Defense Department has opened three investigations into the Jan. 29 raid that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL, several civilians, and the destruction of an MV-22, the Pentagon and the White House announced. Navy Chief Special Warfare Officer William “Ryan” Owens was killed in a raid on al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, which was aimed at collecting intelligence from computers and cell phones in the compound. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Monday the Pentagon has opened investigations into Owens’ death, a civilian casualty “15-6” assessment, and an accident investigation board into the Osprey crash. The investigations, however, do not focus specifically on the decision-making process that led to the raid, Davis said. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that despite the loss of life and the loss of the aircraft, the objectives were accomplished. “We’re very comfortable with how the mission was executed, and we’ll let the Department of Defense go through that review process and then see where that leads us,” Spicer said.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.