U.S. Military Vehicle Rescued from Muddy Bog in Lithuania
The Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that they successfully retrieved a U.S. military vehicle from a deep and muddy bog, nearly a week after the American soldiers who were aboard went missing. The vehicle was extracted late Sunday night, although the Defense Ministry did not provide further updates regarding the status of the missing soldiers.
The soldiers were reported missing on Tuesday when they failed to return from a training mission, as stated by the U.S. military. Their vehicle, an M88 Hercules, was located submerged in a muddy bog on Wednesday, prompting a search and rescue operation.
The missing soldiers, part of the First Brigade, Third Infantry Division, were engaged in training exercises near the border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia and a strong supporter of its ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to military sources, the soldiers were dispatched in the M88 Hercules, which serves primarily as a heavy armored recovery vehicle, to assist in extracting another Army vehicle. It is believed that they may have strayed off the road and into the bog, becoming trapped inside their vehicle.
To recover the vehicle, U.S. Navy divers entered the bog, working meticulously to attach cables to the sunken M88 Hercules. The divers faced significant challenges due to the dense and heavy mud, and rescue teams were tasked with excavating the area and pumping water out of the bog to facilitate the recovery effort.
On Sunday, while rescuers were attempting to recover the vehicle, efforts were further complicated by a landslide, as reported by Dovile Sakaliene, Lithuania’s Minister of Defense, who referred to the operation as an “exhausting struggle against the elements of the deep swamp.”
The initial search for the missing soldiers involved a coordinated effort, utilizing Lithuanian military helicopters, dive teams, and hundreds of soldiers and law enforcement officers from both Lithuania and the United States. The U.S. Army highlighted the extensive collaboration required for the operation.
Amid these events, both Belarus and Russia have voiced criticisms against Lithuania, a NATO member state that was once part of the Soviet Union, for hosting American and other allied troops. The growing unease among Lithuania and other former Soviet states in Eastern Europe regarding NATO’s stability has been amplified by concerns over President Trump’s approach to the alliance. The participation of Polish military engineers in the recovery efforts further exemplified the solidarity among allies, as noted by President Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, who emphasized the importance of collective action in times of crisis.
