U.S. Army Confirms Deaths of Soldiers Missing in Lithuania

The U.S. Army has confirmed the deaths of three of the four soldiers who went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania.

Search and recovery efforts continue for the final soldier, the military said on Monday morning, in very difficult terrain. The soldiers involved have not yet been named.

Earlier in the day, Lithuanian officials said investigators had pulled from a peat bog the U.S. armored vehicle in which the soldiers were traveling, and that a probe into their cause of death had been opened.

"The soldiers we have lost in this tragedy were not just soldiers—they were a part of our family," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Inf. Div. commanding general, in a statement.

"Our hearts are heavy with a sorrow that echoes across the whole Marne Division, both forward and at home. We stand in grief with the families and loved ones of these extraordinary 'Dogface Soldiers' during this unimaginable time.

"But the search isn't finished until everyone is home. Words cannot express our gratitude to those still working around the clock during these extensive search and recovery efforts and your unwavering commitment not to rest until all are found."

Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Task Force Iron and the 1st Armored Division, said it is "a very sad and tragic day."

"The loss of these soldiers weighs heavy on me, the hearts of all Task Force Iron service members, and the 3rd Infantry Division. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of these brave Soldiers," he said in a statement.

"I'd like to personally commend the heroic efforts of the search parties, and especially our Lithuanian allies who were instrumental in the recovery efforts.

"Their courage and commitment to this operation will always be remembered and demonstrates the strong relationship between our countries."

U.S. Soldiers on Training Exercise in Lithuania

The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting tactical training when they went missing in Lithuania, a Baltic ally in the NATO defense alliance.

They were on an exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in the town of Pabradė when they, along with their vehicle, were reported missing in the early hours of March 25, the U.S. Army said.

Hundreds of Lithuanian and U.S. soldiers and rescuers took part in the search through the thick forests and swampy terrain around Pabradė, which lies 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the border with Belarus.

The M88A2 Hercules armored vehicle was discovered on Wednesday submerged in 4.5 meters (15 feet) of water.

A large-scale recovery operation got underway, but "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" in order to pull the 70-ton vehicle ashore, the Army said.

"It is highly complex trying to get to the vehicle itself with the terrain out here and where the M88 is sitting in a bog swamp-like area, below the waterline," Brigadier General John Lloyd, the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division, said in a statement on Sunday.

He continued: "So not only are we dealing with the terrain, a lot of mud that is over top of the vehicle, but also the fact that it's 70 tons that we're trying to recover out of a swamp or bog.

"Last night, divers were in the water trying to get to the vehicle. We were unable to because of the amount of mud. We continue to work on the excavation and pumping all the water out of the bog and also using excavation equipment to try to get to the vehicle."

U.S. Troops in NATO's Lithuania

About 1,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in Lithuania on a rotational basis.

Lithuania and Poland bracket the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, where Moscow bases its Baltic Sea naval fleet, and both NATO countries share significant land borders with Belarus, Moscow's key ally.

NATO has been fortifying its eastern flank, close to Russia, as alliance members ring alarm bells about Moscow's potential ambitions in the Baltic. Lithuania and other Baltic states have led NATO's efforts to sharply increase defense spending by allies.

But there are deepening concerns about the plans for the tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel stationed on the Continent as the Trump administration pulls back from Europe to shift its strategic focus to China.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said during a visit to Washington, D.C., that Vilnius was pleased to host U.S. rotational battalions in the country and was ready to accept more American troops, according to a readout published by the Foreign Ministry.

This article uses reporting by the Associated Press.

Update, 3/31/25, 10:52 a.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that the fates of the soldiers had been confirmed by the U.S. Army.