Jeffrey L. Chaney dies 'as a result of enemy action while conducting combat operations'

A United States sailor from Omaha has been killed in Iraq. The Defense Department has confirmed that 35-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey L. Chaney lost his life when a roadside bomb exploded on Tuesday.

Chaney was born and raised in the metro and was a 1990 graduate of Bellevue West High School. His family tells Channel 6 News that he was a 14 year veteran of the military.

He was two-and-a-half months into a six month deployment when he was killed on Tuesday.

Jeff's sister, April Chaney told us, "Everybody loves him. He loved his job. He was doing what he wanted to do, enjoyed it and everybody loves him."

His mother Connie Chaney said, "I've talked to Jeff a lot since he's been in Iraq and never one time ever did he hang up without saying 'I love you mom.' I'll miss 'I love you mom.'"

Chaney was the youngest of five children and he was the father of a 14-year-old daughter who lives in Omaha.

He was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eleven, out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. He and another sailor, Chief Petty Officer Patrick Wade, died in combat operations in Iraq's Salah Ad Din Province, the Pentagon said.

"They were just on a convoy. They were going to take care of some explosives and their vehicle was hit by a very deep charge," said Shirley Wade, Patrick Wade's mother.

Wade family members say they were told the explosion left a crater 40 feet long and 6 feet deep.

From WOWT 6