A significant search operation was underway Thursday in Lithuania for four U.S. soldiers who went missing two days ago during a military training exercise, with both American and Lithuanian forces scrambling to navigate the treacherous landscape.
The troops, assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, were last seen aboard an M88 recovery vehicle -- a heavily armored tow truck used to retrieve disabled tanks -- before it was found submerged in deep mud and water Wednesday morning. The rugged landscape has complicated the search, requiring specialized equipment to drain the swampy terrain before recovery teams can reach the vehicle.
But it's a painstaking process. Before water can be pumped out, crews must first construct berms of sand and dirt to contain the area -- a project that could take days.
"Due to the terrain, this is an incredibly complex engineering effort," Maj. Robin Bruce, a 1st Armored Division engineer, said in a statement. "The team on the ground is working to remove enough water and mud for rescue teams to safely reach, stabilize and access the vehicle."
U.S. and Lithuanian engineers were racing to pump water, excavate mud and reinforce the ground to support the heavy machinery needed for the operation. Officials say every available option is being explored to accelerate the process.
"We are leveraging every available U.S. and Lithuanian asset to coordinate for and provide the required resources for this effort," Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the commanding general of 1st Armored Division, said in a statement.
On Wednesday, NATO clarified comments that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made earlier suggesting the four soldiers had died -- and that the assertion was premature.
"The search is ongoing," NATO said in a statement on the social media platform X. "We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports and was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown."
The identities of the soldiers had not been released Thursday. The Army and other military services typically wait to release that information until next of kin has been notified.
"This is gut-wrenching for the entire 3rd Infantry Division," Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division's commander, said in a statement. "Our hearts are with the families of our missing soldiers and all of Raider Brigade during this difficult time, both forward and here at home."
The incident comes just months after two soldiers, also from the 3rd Infantry Division, died in a separate tactical vehicle accident in Georgia. In January, Staff Sgt. Shelbe Butner, 28, and Spc. Jacob Mullen, 25, died when their Joint Light Tactical Vehicle overturned into a body of water near Fort Stewart.
The deployment of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, to Europe in January was part of a broader effort to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. Lithuania, which joined the alliance in 2004, has played a critical role in hosting rotational forces for joint exercises aimed at deterring Russian aggression.
The soldiers were participating in a routine training exercise near Pabradė, a strategically significant area close to Lithuania's border with Belarus. A close ally of Russia, Belarus has been central to Moscow's war in Ukraine, making Lithuania an increasingly important location for NATO operations.
While combat fatalities have declined in recent years, training accidents -- particularly those involving tactical military vehicles -- remain a leading cause of death among service members. A 2021 report from the Government Accountability Office found that, between 2010 and 2019, the Army recorded 153 serious accidents involving tactical vehicles, often linked to sleep deprivation and insufficient training.
Related: The Top Killer of Soldiers, Army Vehicle Deaths Are Tied to Poor Training, Though Numbers Down
