5 US Army soldiers killed in crash over the Mediterranean ID’d: DOD

5 Army aviation soldiers died in a crash over the eastern Mediterranean Sea
The aircraft experienced an in-flight emergency resulting in the crash
DOD: No indication that the crash was by "enemy/hostile actions"

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of Defense identified Monday the five U.S. Army Special Operation soldiers who were killed when a military aircraft crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea during a training mission.

According to a DOD release, the deceased are:

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
Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.

The DOD said there was no indication that the crash was caused by “enemy/hostile actions.”

“The MH-60 Blackhawk was conducting aerial refueling training when the aircraft experienced an in-flight emergency resulting in the crash,” the DOD said.

The Washington Post cited two U.S. officials who said the troops were sent to the region as part of the U.S. military presence in response to the war.

Currently, the U.S. has thousands of soldiers, at least two aircraft carriers and dozens of warplanes in the Middle East.

The incident was first disclosed by the U.S. European Command, which oversees military operations in the area, on Saturday, though it didn’t clarify which branch of the military or what kind of aircraft was involved.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that, “We mourn the tragic loss of five U.S. service members during a training accident in the Mediterranean Sea early Saturday morning.”

President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were “praying for the families and friends who lost a precious loved one — a piece of their soul.”

Earlier this year, two other training accidents occurred involving military helicopters, killing 12 soldiers combined.

In March, nine soldiers died when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed during routine training in Kentucky. A few weeks later, three soldiers died when two Army helicopters collided while returning from training in Alaska.

The Army grounded aviation units for more training following those two incidents.