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Efforts continue by U.S. and Lithuanian personnel March 27 in the search and recovery for four missing U.S. Army Soldiers and their M88 armored vehicle near Pabradė, Lithuania, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
“We are leveraging every available U.S. and Lithuanian asset to coordinate for and provide the required resources for this effort,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the commanding general of the First Armored Division.
The Soldiers, assigned to 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, have been missing since the early hours of March 25 while conducting a maintenance mission to recover another U.S. Army vehicle in the training area during scheduled unit training. Search and recovery efforts by U.S. and Lithuanian personnel have continued without pause.
The vehicle was discovered the morning of March 26 submerged in a body of water in a training area after continuous search efforts by U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and other Lithuanian authorities. The initial search effort through the thick forests and swampy terrain involved ground-based search parties from hundreds of U.S and Lithuanian Soldiers and law enforcement, Lithuanian military helicopters and diving teams.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the dedicated and professional efforts of our Lithuanian Allies in ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel,” added Taylor. “They have worked tirelessly alongside us over the last 48 hours and we continue to be grateful for their support.”
The challenges presented by the water, thick mud and soft ground around the site have complicated recovery efforts and have required specialized equipment to drain water from the side and stabilize the ground.
Engineers on site are working to create berms. These berms—barriers built of dirt and sand from the nearby terrain—are designed to create a contained area from which water can be pumped and mud dredged, providing emergency personnel on site access to the vehicle.
”Due to the terrain, this is an incredibly complex engineering effort. The team on the ground is working to remove enough water and mud for rescue teams to safely reach, stabilize, and access the vehicle,” said Maj. Robin Bruce, 1st Armored Division Engineer. “Lithuanian and U.S. Army engineers are currently pumping water and excavating mud from the site and making improvements to the surrounding area to support the heavy equipment needed for recovery. The team is exploring every available option to speed up this process.”
The 3rd Inf. Div. is continuing to keep families of the Soldiers informed on the status of search efforts.
“This tragic situation weighs heavily on all of us and we’re keeping the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers and recovery team in our thoughts and prayers,” said Taylor. “We want everyone to know, we will not stop until our Soldiers are found.”
