NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday identified the five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean Sea over Veterans Day weekend.

The military’s European Command said all five crew members on board were killed when the MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down “during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training.” The five soldiers were ll part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, based at Fort Caampbell, Kentucky.

The five service members were identified 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.
Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of the Army Special Operations Command, said the five soldiers “hail from rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations and formations.”

“This is devastating news that reverberates across the entire Special Operations community. Every loss is tough, but in this case, service to the Nation is truly a family business and it’s hard to express the amount of sorrow that we all feel right now,” Braga said in a statement Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, their loved ones, and their fellow soldiers. Like the Special Operations community always does, we will wrap our arms around them, grieve with them, and promise to never forget them.”
US troops killed in helicopter crash:5 US service members die when helicopter crashes in Mediterranean training accident

Five soldiers were highly decorated
According to biographies provided by the Army Special Operations Command, the fallen soldiers had decorated careers with missions of fearless courage completed abroad and at home, earning medals of honor.Dwyer received his commission from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 2009. He served as a Field Artillery Commissioned Officer for six years before reverting to Warrant Officer and graduating from flight school in 2018. Dwyer joined the 160th as an MH-60M pilot and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Medal with Combat device, among many others.

Barnes graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, in 2011. After graduation, he attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he completed training to become a UH-60L Blackhawk pilot. Barnes was assigned to Korea and completed deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor device and the Air Medal with Combat device among other campaign awards.
Grone enlisted in the Army in 2017 as 15T UH-60 “Black Hawk” repairer and was assigned to the 160th. After completing the Regiment’s extensive assessment and training program in 2018, Grone then served as a flight instructor and and MH-60M crew chief. He deployed to Afghanistan and multiple times to Iraq, and was awarded the Air Medal with Combat device, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal among numerous other awards.

Southard enlisted in the Army in 2015 as a 15T UH-60 “Black Hawk” repairer. He was first assigned to the 1st Armored Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas. Southard later completed a 13-month rotation to Task Force Sinai in support of ongoing peacekeeping operations. He volunteered for assignment to the 160th, serving as an MH-60M crew chief. He deployed to Afghanistan and was awarded two Army Commendation medals and an Army Achievement medal among other citations.

Wolfe enlisted in the Army in 2018 as a 15T UH-60 “Black Hawk” repairer. He was assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, and later served as an MH-60M crew chief for the 160th. Wolfe’s awards and decorations include two Army Commendation Medals and an Army Achievement Medal, among other awards.