Fallen MSP Sailors Named

According to the BBC, the Navy has released the names of the two Submariners who were tragically lost off the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul on Friday:

The dead men were named as Senior Chief Thomas Higgins, 45, of Paducah, Kentucky, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Holtz, 30, of Lakewood, Ohio.
The US Navy said in a statement on Sunday that the cause of the accident remained under investigation.

Sailors, Rest Your Oars...

Update 0650 31 Dec: According to the CSG-2 web page, ETCS(SS) Thomas Higgins was the MSP's Chief of the Boat. This makes the incident even more tragic -- now the crew will have to cope with the sense of loss they feel without a man who I'm sure was a mentor to all.

Update 0818 31 Dec: Here's the Navy NewsStand article, confirming what the BBC story said.

Update 1421 01 Jan 07: Here's a story from the Norfolk paper that gives some personal background on the two fallen Submariners, including the information that Petty Officer Holtz was a Sonar Tech. (Unfortunately, you'll have to work your way around the portions of the story that demonstrate the reporter's unfamiliarity with the military -- I'm assuming their regular military reporter is on vacation.)