Pentagon Identifies Special Operations Soldiers Killed In Black Hawk Crash Over The Mediterranean

The five soldiers who perished in Friday’s helicopter accident over the Mediterranean Sea were members of U.S. Special Operations Command (USASOC), the Pentagon revealed on Monday.

U.S. Army identified the five fallen soldiers as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota, USASOC said in a statement. They were assigned to 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (160th SOAR).

“We mourn the loss of these five incredible Soldiers, each of them a national treasure. They hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations,” Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of USASOC, said in the statement.

The five service members were killed after a routine in-flight refueling exercise went awry, according to the Army. The MH-60 Blackhawk they were piloting on a training mission experienced an unspecified emergency resulting in the crash.

Troops were in the area as part of the Biden administration’s broader contingency planning in case the war between Israel and Hamas escalated, The Washington Post reported, citing two U.S. officials. That planning includes potential evacuations