GhLinks Media
Staff Sgt. Tanner Grone has been identified as one of the 5 soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash in the Eastern Mediterranean on Friday.
Tanner Grone was 26 years old and from Gorham, New Hampshire.
Grone was enlisted in the Army in 2017 as a Blackhawk repairer, according to his service details, and was assigned to the 160th SOAR.
He went on to serve as a flight instructor and MH-60M Blackhawk crew chief.
He deployed multiple times to Iraq, Afghanistan, and several no-notice deployments and exercises.
His awards and decorations include the Air Medal with Combat device, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal with combat device.
What happened
The troops were participating in “routine flight training” when the MH-60 Blackhawk “experienced an in-flight emergency, resulting in the crash,” the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement on Monday.
“The MH-60 Blackhawk was conducting aerial refueling training when the aircraft experienced an in-flight emergency, resulting in the crash,” reads the statement.
The United States has deployed two aircraft carriers – the Ford and the Eisenhower – along with supporting ships and dozens of aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel to act as a deterrent to ensure the conflict does not expand.
Other soldiers who lost their lives were
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tenn.
- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, Calif.
- Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Ariz.
- Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minn.
