More assets have been brought in to support the ongoing recovery operations for four missing U.S. soldiers. The recovery team was joined by Polish engineers and a specialized U.S. Navy dive team to recover the M88A2 Hercules found on March 26, which remains submerged under at least 15 feet of water, clay-like mud, and silt.
Today’s focus is on continued efforts to remove water and mud from the site, shore up the ground around the site to support heavy equipment, and site preparation for dive operations. The soldiers are from Fort Stewart’s 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Navy divers entered the water but were unable to reach the vehicle. The vehicle is 4 meters, or a little more than 13 feet, below the water’s surface and in encased in approximately 2 meters of mud.
The specialized divers from U.S. Navy Commander, Task Force 68 arrived Saturday morning on a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules at the Vilnius airport from Rota, Spain. They and their equipment were then moved to the mission site by U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the 1st Armored Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade to begin diving operations. Their focus is finding lift points on the M88A2 and bring to bear highly specialized equipment and training that will allow them to navigate the challenging environment around the Hercules.
“We've touched base with the Lithuanian divers who have gone in already. We have a good site picture from them and the other boots on the ground,” said Senior Chief Master Diver Carlos Hernandez, Underwater Construction Team 1, U.S. Navy. “We're going to start off by putting our Defender (submersible remotely operated vehicle) in the water to paint a clear picture of what we can expect down there, as well as our Artemis Handheld Sonar.”
“I remain awestruck at the dedication and determination of our Lithuanian partners to help us find our missing soldiers. We are also very grateful to the U.S. Navy Dive Team for moving through the night from Spain to get on the ground,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, 1st Armored Division commanding general. “We are going to use every resource available from all our countries to find our missing soldiers. We are stronger together as a joint and multinational team and we will not rest until our soldiers are found.”
Additional senior engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) arrived March 28 to assist in planning and operations.
“USACE officers and civilian engineers with expertise in a variety of backgrounds are currently on the ground directly supporting U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces and other Lithuanian authorities in their recovery efforts,” said Col. Daniel Kent, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District commander. “USACE understands the gravity of this somber mission and our team will do what it can to support all the partners working together in this effort.”
Additionally, 55 Polish engineers and recovery experts arrived in Lithuania to assist in operations. The Polish rescue workers brought 13 vehicles, including four heavy trucks, one engineer workshop/tool truck, one fueler with 10 tons of fuel, and three WZT-3 tracked recovery vehicles (similar to the Hercules).
"Right now, as we see here, all Americans and Lithuanians are doing a great job with this situation. We are on standby with armored recovery vehicles, one engineering machine, a water pump and so on. If there is a need for us, we can bring our equipment and assist with this work here,” said Maj. Mikhail Bebark, Polish Armed Forces.
Lithuanian geologists arrived at 11:30 a.m. via CH-47 Chinook and have brought a man-portable sub-bottom profiler (sonar) to assist in mapping out the recovery area.
Aviation assets from Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division supporting the efforts include three CH-47 Chinooks for heavy lift, two UH-60M Blackhawks for medical evacuation, and one UH-60L and two UH-60M Blackhawks for medium lift and command and control.
The 3rd ID is continuing to keep families of the soldiers informed on the status of recovery efforts
