NATHAN GAGE LEVEN INGRAM was born 22-MAR 1996 in Tarrant, Texas. He was a Byron Nelson High school graduate and a 2019 Texas Tech graduate. Ingram enlisted in the Navy on 25-SEP 2019, and graduated from boot camp at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois.
Ingram served with West Coast-based SEAL units after graduating from SEAL qualification training in Coronado, California. He was assigned to the Navy’s SEAL Team 3.
On the evening of 11-JAN 2024 S02 Nathan Ingram, age 27, and S01 Christopher Chambers, age 37, both assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit, were part of a mission to board an “illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons” when they went missing off Somalia, according to U.S. Central Command. The two SEALs had launched from the USS Lewis B. Puller in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Somalia.
Those aboard the dhow, (Editor’s note: “dhow” is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region) which did not fly a country flag, were planning to transfer the missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another boat off the coast of Somalia, as reported by the Associated Press, citing a U.S. defense official. The Navy recognized the boat as one with a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public.
The SEALs traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by a Naval Special Warfare crew to get to the boat. As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8 p.m. local time, one SEAL got knocked off by high waves and a teammate went in after him.
After an extensive 10-day search, their physical remains were not recovered and were designated “missing at sea” and declared deceased. Their physical remains were never recovered. The Pentagon reports that Ingram dove into rough waters, after senior Navy SEAL Chris Chambers fell in while trying to intercept weapons being smuggled from Iran in the Arabian Sea.