The national defence leadership expresses deepest sympathies to the family and comrades upon discovery of remains of the fourth servicemember of the United States contingent in Lithuania.
Following an intense search and rescue operation conducted relentlessly by Lithuanian and American, other Allied troops and other institutions in the Pabradė Training Area, the fourth missing U.S. soldier was found deceased.
Next of kin have been notified.
A pretrial investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances of the accident. It is conducted by the Lithuanian Military Police under supervision of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The 11th U.S. Rotational Battalion began the tour of duty in Pabradė: two battalions of the United States 3rd Infantry Division started the 9-month rotation of readiness activities in Lithuania with local and Allied troops. The United States has been rotating heavy battalions in Lithuania since 2019. NATO and U.S. force presence in Lithuania is a key deterrent. The United States passed a decision on an uninterrupted U.S. rotational force presence in the Baltic region. In its turn, Lithuania is committed to do everything necessary to provide Host Nation Support and infrastructure needed for the hosted U.S. troops.
