Navy chief on destroyer Ramage dies on deployment to North Sea
A Navy chief died earlier this month after being medically evacuated from the deployed guided-missile destroyer Ramage.
Chief Gunner’s Mate Caprice L. Pryor, suffered a medical emergency while the ship was underway in the North Sea on June 8, The destroyer is part of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, according to the Navy.
Officials with the Italy-based U.S. 6th Fleet declined to provide further details on what happened, citing an ongoing investigation. But they confirmed that Pryor was transported to Stavanger University Hospital in Norway, where he was pronounced dead.
Ford, Ramage and the rest of the carrier strike group deployed in May.
USS Gerald R Ford leaves Norfolk for first full-length deployment
As of Wednesday, an entry in the Naval Safety Command’s mishap report stated that a sailor confirmed to be Pryor “suffered cardiac arrest while underway.”
But as of Thursday morning, following Navy Times queries about the incident, the safety command replaced that description to state that a sailor was “injured underway.”
An Illinois native, Pryor enlisted in 1998 and pinned on his anchors in 2020, according to service records.
He had been with Ramage since July.
“Our deepest condolences to Chief Pryor’s family and friends and to the Ramage crew,” Rear Adm. Erik Eslich, the Ford strike group commander, said in a statement. “Chief Pryor made a lasting impact on the Sailors he led aboard Ramage, and his contributions to the U.S. Navy are immeasurable.”
