4 U.S. Army soldiers disappear during training exercise in Lithuania near border with Belarus

[MeganC]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-army-soldiers-missing-lithuania-near-border-belarus/

Excerpt:

Four U.S. Army soldiers were missing Wednesday in Lithuania after disappearing during a training exercise, the U.S. embassy in Vilnius said in a statement posted on social media, thanking the Baltic nation's military and police for helping American forces search for them.

The embassy said in a post on social media that the troops went missing from a training area near Pabrade, near Lithuania's far eastern border with Belarus, a nation closely allied with Russia. The embassy did not say when the soldiers went missing.

[MeganC]

Hate to say but it is very likely that the Russian/Belorussian gangsters kidnapped these soldiers.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Ruh-roh.

Putin taking Americans prisoner to hold as leverage in dealing with US over Ukraine?

[Canuck Conservative]

Probably accuse the American soldiers of trying to smuggle drugs in.

Trial, sentence, boom - more hostages for Putin to exchange.

[rrrod]

The snatch was authorized by Putin.
.bet on it.

[Timber Rattler]

Russian Spetznaz or GRU probably snatched them.

[MeganC]

Euronews has an update and it is not good news:

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/26/four-us-soldiers-who-went-missing-in-lithuania-have-died-nato-chief-says

Four US soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have died, NATO chief says

 

 

[mountaineer]

Visegrád 24
@visegrad24
BREAKING:  4 U.S. soldiers have been found dead in Lithuania near the border with Belarus.
They and their tracked vehicle went missing during military exercises
11:41 AM · Mar 26, 2025

Apparently, they drove into a swamp.

[mystery-ak]

4 American soldiers missing from training area in Lithuania found dead, NATO leader says
Soldiers were conducting tactical training in Lithuania when they went missing
By Stephen Sorace Fox News
Published March 26, 2025 12:49pm EDT | Updated March 26, 2025 2:06pm EDT

Four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday.

Rutte said he received word of the deaths of the four soldiers while traveling to Warsaw and that his thoughts were with their families and with the United States.

"This is still early news so we do not know the details. This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones," Rutte told reporters in Warsaw.

Few details surrounding the incident were immediately provided by U.S. officials. A U.S. official would say only that the four soldiers were involved in a training accident, The Associated Press reported. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not comment on the status of the soldiers.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/4-american-soldiers-missing-from-training-area-lithuania-us-military-says

[mountaineer]

Why are our soldiers there?

     American News Mar 26, 2025
BREAKING: 4 US soldiers dead after going missing on training mission in Lithuania: NATO
"This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones."
Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
Mar 26, 2025

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed on Wednesday that four U.S.soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, according to the Associated Press.

The soldiers were last seen alive on Tuesday in an armored vehicle, during tactical training exercises at a military site in eastern Lithuania. The base lies six miles from Belarus.

The Lithuanian military has not confirmed what happened, though local reports say that the four may have drowned after their M88A2 Hercules armoured vehicles became trapped in swampy conditions, reports the New York Post.

“This is still early news so we do not know the details,” Rutte said while in Warsaw on Wednesday. “This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones.”

No statement has been made by the US Army on the deaths yet, but they have expressed their thanks to Lithuania’s armed forces for helping on the search and rescue mission.   ...

Post Millennial

So no "snatch" authorized by Putin, as it turns out.

[DCPatriot]

Why are our soldiers there?

My question, too!

[Timber Rattler]

https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/ArticleViewPressRelease/Article/4136092/press-release-vehicle-of-missing-us-soldiers-in-lithuania-found/

WIESBADEN, Germany —
The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the four missing U.S. Soldiers were operating during a training exercise has been located in Lithuania. The vehicle was discovered submerged in a body of water in a training area after a search by U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and other Lithuanian authorities. Recovery efforts are underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.

Search efforts for the Soldiers continue.

The Soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident. We will provide further updates as new information becomes available.

The 3rd Inf. Div. is continuing to keep families of the Soldiers informed on the status of search efforts.

For more information, contact U.S. Army Europe and Africa Public Affairs at media@army.mil.

U.S. Army Europe and Africa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M88_recovery_vehicle

[kevindavis007]

Why are our soldiers there?

Cause they are allies..

[MeganC]

So no "snatch" authorized by Putin, as it turns out.

I won't rule it out that the soldiers were killed by the Russians. A myriad of Cold War era attacks by Russia against our forces were explained away as "training" accidents. This is no secret.

[rangerrebew]

Vehicle of missing US soldiers in Lithuania found submerged in water
By Nikki Wentling and The Associated Press
 Mar 26, 2025, 01:56 PM

 
The U.S. Army said Wednesday that the Hercules armored vehicle carrying the four U.S. soldiers who went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania had been found submerged in a body of water. It said recovery efforts were underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.


The soldiers, all part of 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting tactical training when they went missing, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

NATO on Wednesday clarified comments that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made earlier in the day, when he suggested the soldiers had died, even though the U.S. Army said their fate was not yet confirmed.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/03/26/4-us-soldiers-missing-from-training-area-in-lithuania/

[rangerrebew]

 

[MeganC]

 

[240B]

The initial deployment of troops to Vietnam were called 'trainers'.

[MeganC]

The initial deployment of troops to Vietnam were called 'trainers'.

I think they called them 'advisors'. Same thing though.

[Timber Rattler]

US armored vehicle missing in Lithuania pulled from swamp but fate of 4 soldiers is still unknown

https://apnews.com/article/missing-us-soldiers-lithuania-armored-vehicle-pabrade-452f254b648ff36d3bc7b155ba705144

A U.S. armored vehicle that went missing in Lithuania has been retrieved from a swamp after a six-day search but there is still no information about the fate of the four American soldiers who were on board, Lithuanian officials said Monday.

“The armored vehicle was pulled ashore at 4:40 a.m., the towing operation is complete, Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators continue their work,” Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said Monday morning in a post on Facebook.

The soldiers were on a training exercise at the massive General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in the town of Pabradė when they and their vehicle were reported missing in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the U.S. army said.

She made clear to reporters that the first information about fate of the soldiers will be delivered by the U.S. army.

EXCERPT

[mystery-ak]

3 American soldiers deceased after US armored vehicle pulled from Lithuanian swamp
M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle sank in a peat bog last week near Pabradė, Lithuania
Greg Norman By Greg Norman Fox News
Published March 31, 2025 10:14am EDT | Updated March 31, 2025 10:33am EDT

Three American soldiers were declared deceased on Monday after crews in Lithuania retrieved the M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle they were traveling in, which sank in a swamp last week.

The announcement came as search and recovery efforts are ongoing for a fourth soldier near Pabradė, Lithuania, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

"Three U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were found deceased in Lithuania today, March 31. The soldiers, whose identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25 in their M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle while conducting a mission to repair and tow an immobilized tactical vehicle," U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement.

"The M88A2 was removed from the peat bog early Monday morning, March 31, after a six-day-long effort that required tremendous resources from Lithuania, our steadfast ally, and hundreds of service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Polish Armed Forces -- along with other elements from the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies -- to solve the engineering challenge of recovering the 63-ton-vehicle from an area surrounded by unstable ground conditions," it added.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/us/army-confirms-3-4-missing-soldiers-lithuania-dead

[Smokin Joe]

Someone in full battle rattle might have over 100 lbs of gear on them. Pretty tough to swim with all that. Having traversed swampy ground, once saved by carrying a shotgun at port arms (it caught on the sides of the well concealed hole I stepped in--my feet never met resistance), it would be all too easy for someone going to get help to get bogged down and drown. I hope they find the missing soldier, preferably alive.

[rangerrebew]

Mystery as US Army vehicle pulled from swamp in Lithuania but soldiers still missing
Story by Liudas Dapkus • 13h
 

Four soldiers still missing after US army vehicle pulled from swamp
A US armoured vehicle, missing for six days, has been recovered from a Lithuanian swamp, but the fate of the four American soldiers on board remains unknown.

The vehicle was retrieved early Monday morning, according to Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė.

The soldiers disappeared along with their vehicle during a training exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė early last Tuesday, the US army confirmed. Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators are continuing their work at the scene.
 
"The armored vehicle was pulled ashore at 4:40 a.m., the towing operation is complete, Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators continue their work,” Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said Monday morning in a post on Facebook.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mystery-as-us-army-vehicle-pulled-from-swamp-in-lithuania-but-soldiers-still-missing/ar-AA1BYOW6?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=94605ff0ab4f4fc0a394abb35c7ace91&ei=124

[mountaineer]

Visegrád 24
@visegrad24
BREAKING:  The U.S. Army announces that they have found the body of the 4th missing soldier in Lithuania.
All 4 have now been found dead after their armored vehicle disappeared in a swamp 1 week ago.
12:09 PM · Apr 1, 2025

[MeganC]