Three U.S. Army soldiers were found dead on Monday, and the search for a fourth is ongoing after their vehicle sank in a peat bog during a training exercise in Lithuania last week.
Four soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, went missing “in the early morning hours” last Tuesday while driving an M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle during a training mission. They were on a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle, according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The identities of the three deceased soldiers are being withheld until their families are notified as “search and recovery operations continue for the remaining fourth Soldier.”
U.S. Navy divers found the armored vehicle “four meters below the water’s surface and encased in about two meters of mud.” The recovery effort lasted six days and “required tremendous resources from Lithuania” as officials solved “the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions.” The M88A2 Hercules was finally removed from the soft, spongy wetland after the military “brought in excavators, sluice and slurry pumps, other heavy construction equipment, technical experts, and several hundred tons of gravel and earth to enable the recovery.”
A U.S. Army social media account posted photos of the recovery operation, writing, “Together we will bring our Soldiers home.”
“Today is a very sad and tragic day. The loss of these Soldiers weighs heavy on me, the hearts of all Task Force Iron service members, and the 3rd Infantry Division. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of these brave Soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Task Force Iron and the 1st Armored Division. “I’d like to personally commend the heroic efforts of the search parties, and especially our Lithuanian allies who were instrumental in the recovery efforts. Their courage and commitment to this operation will always be remembered and demonstrates the strong relationship between our countries. However, search and recovery efforts are not complete – they will continue until we bring all of our Soldiers home.”
After the soldiers went missing last week and their vehicle was found submerged in the swamp, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said all four soldiers had died. The United States did not confirm any deaths until Monday morning.
Three U.S. Army soldiers were found dead on Monday, and the search for a fourth is ongoing after their vehicle sank in a peat bog during a training exercise in Lithuania last week.
Four soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, went missing “in the early morning hours” last Tuesday while driving an M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle during a training mission. They were on a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle, according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The identities of the three deceased soldiers are being withheld until their families are notified as “search and recovery operations continue for the remaining fourth Soldier.”
U.S. Navy divers found the armored vehicle “four meters below the water’s surface and encased in about two meters of mud.” The recovery effort lasted six days and “required tremendous resources from Lithuania” as officials solved “the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions.” The M88A2 Hercules was finally removed from the soft, spongy wetland after the military “brought in excavators, sluice and slurry pumps, other heavy construction equipment, technical experts, and several hundred tons of gravel and earth to enable the recovery.”
A U.S. Army social media account posted photos of the recovery operation, writing, “Together we will bring our Soldiers home.”
“Today is a very sad and tragic day. The loss of these Soldiers weighs heavy on me, the hearts of all Task Force Iron service members, and the 3rd Infantry Division. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of these brave Soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Task Force Iron and the 1st Armored Division. “I’d like to personally commend the heroic efforts of the search parties, and especially our Lithuanian allies who were instrumental in the recovery efforts. Their courage and commitment to this operation will always be remembered and demonstrates the strong relationship between our countries. However, search and recovery efforts are not complete – they will continue until we bring all of our Soldiers home.”
After the soldiers went missing last week and their vehicle was found submerged in the swamp, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said all four soldiers had died. The United States did not confirm any deaths until Monday morning.
