BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. — NATO has clarified a statement that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made about the four U.S soldiers from a Georgia military base who disappeared while training in Lithuania.
While he was giving a lecture on Wednesday, Rutte said that he had received word that the soldiers were dead. The U.S. Army, however, said the soldiers’ fate hasn’t been confirmed yet.
“The search is ongoing,” NATO said in an updated statement posted on X. “We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown.”
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The U.S. Army confirmed that the soldiers, based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, were conducting an exercise at a training field near Pabradė, Lithuania, a town located about six miles from the border with Belarus.
The Army said their Hercules armored vehicle had been found submerged in a body of water. Recovery efforts are ongoing.
Fort Stewart has not released the soldiers’ names.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
The water level at the incident site in Pabradė has been pumped down enough to begin excavation work. Vehicle is barely detectable, its position remains unclear. Possible depth is around 5 meters. All the latest information is being promptly provided to the soldiers' families. pic.twitter.com/p8QWNbwQAv
— Lithuanian MOD 🇱🇹 (@Lithuanian_MoD) March 27, 2025
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