Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew John Leathers, 33, disappeared during a breath-hold training dive off Kaena Point, Oahu, on February 19, 2013. He was taking part in a free swim roughly 150 yards from shore in about 25 feet of water and was among the last to enter. At some point during the exercise his teammates lost sight of him and he failed to resurface.

A multi-agency search by the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, Honolulu Fire Department and Ocean Safety crews covered about 24,000 square miles over five days before the official search was called off; his Naval Special Warfare unit continued searching for another 24 hours. Leathers was never found and was declared deceased on February 27, 2013. A command investigation attributed the likely cause of death to drowning from a shallow-water blackout and identified safety and procedural violations during the exercise, including no designated swim buddies. He was a husband, father and decorated operator, posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor; a cenotaph stands for him at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.

Are there anyone who trained at Kaena Point or served with his unit who can share more about the safety changes that followed or remember Matthew’s service?