OSLO , Norway (Transatlantic Today) – The 4 US Marines who died in an aircraft accident in Norway last week while participating in a joint military exercise with NATO partners were identified on Sunday.
The Marine Corps named the victims as Capt. Ross A. Reynolds of Leominster, Massachusetts, Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cpl. Jacob M. Moore of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy of Cambridge, Ohio, in a statement.
The Marine Corps stated their remains were on their way to the United States.
NATO members and other US military partners have offered assistance, according to the corps. The Royal Norwegian Navy, Royal Norwegian Air Force, and armed units from the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom were among them, according to the report.
The Marines’ MV-22 Osprey helicopter crashed amid harsh weather on Friday, according to military sources. The reason for the incident has yet to be determined, and the accident is still being investigated.
According to NBC NEWS, the Marines from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing of the II Marine Expeditionary Force were taking part in a huge NATO exercise dubbed Cold Response.
Although the training is meant to improve resilience in the event of assault against NATO partners from the “High North,” there is no evidence that it is a direct reaction to Russia’s assault on Ukraine, according to the alliance.
NATO hailed the cold-weather drill as “long-planned” in a declaration last week.
The MV-22 Osprey, which can lift off and land like just a helicopter yet fly like a plane owing to its “tilt rotor” motors, has had a tumultuous past over its 2 decades of service.
Before assuming operations in 2007, the helicopter was engaged in accidents that killed over 30 people. The Marine Corps has been a staunch supporter of the vehicle.
Boeing and Bell, the plane’s designers, claim that improved, redundant systems can easily monitor the aircraft’s engine and computers have enabled it to become a dependable workhorse.
According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center North Norway, the weather conditions were so poor at the time of Friday’s collision that it was assessed that a responding helicopter would not be able to land at the crash scene.
