Navy identifies SEAL killed during live-fire exerciseBy CHELSEA J. CARTER Associated Press WriterArticle Launched: 02/01/2008 10:33:19 AM PSTSAN DIEGO—A Navy SEAL shot and killed during a live-fire exercise was identified Friday as a 22-year-old Las Vegas man. Petty Officer 2nd Class Shapoor Alexander Ghane Jr. died Wednesday from gunshot wounds suffered during a training exercise at a facility run by contractors in Lake Cormorant, Miss. Ghane, known as Alexander, was participating with his Coronado-based SEAL team in a "close-quarter combat" training scenario—fighting an enemy with weapons at very close range, said Lt. Tommy Crosby, a Naval Special Warfare Group 1 spokesman in Coronado, Calif. The shooting occurred at the Mid-South Institute of Self-Defense Shooting, a contractor facility sometimes used by the military for specialized training, Crosby said. Ghane was pronounced dead after being taken via air ambulance to Elvis Presley Memorial Hospital. Ghane's SEAL team mates described him as driven and dedicated. "Alex died doing what he loved. He died a SEAL, with his teammates around him," said Ghane's unit commander, whose identity was withheld because of classified nature of the team's missions. Ghane joined the Navy in June 2004 and entered SEAL training in November 2004. He joined the West Coast seal teams in June 2007. "Our family is devastated at the sudden loss of Alexander," his family said in a statement released by the Navy. "We are proud of him, proud of all of his accomplishments and the man that he had become." Crosby said no other details surrounding the death would be immediately released. The death was under joint investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department. The Navy has about 2,300 SEALS, known for their elite special operations training and missions, based in Coronado and Little Creek, Va.