Five Fort Campbell soldiers killed in helicopter crash in Mediterranean Sea

Five U.S. servicepeople based out of Fort Campbell were killed Saturday when a military helicopter crashed over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, U.S. officials said Sunday.

The military’s European Command said all five crew members on board were killed when the Blackhawk helicopter went down off the coast of Cyprus during air refueling.

On Sunday Fox News said that the crew was part of the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, also known as the Night Stalkers. The group has almost 3,000 soldiers and more than 200 aircraft, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Department of Defense officials on Monday identified the service members as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38 of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.

The military first announced the crash on Saturday and said that the cause is under investigation, but there are no indications of any hostile activity involved.

A U.S. official said the crew was part of special operations forces recently sent to be in place if needed to help evacuate American citizens from the region amid the unfolding Israel-Hamas war.

The Air Force has also sent additional squadrons to the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which has an array of aircraft on board, has also been operating in the eastern Mediterranean.