7 Killed in Crash Were Special Operations Forces

Seven of the U.S. troops killed in the Mississippi plane crash were special operations forces based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Six were Marines and one was a sailor.

The Marine Corps refueling and cargo plane went down in a soybean field on Monday and killed 16 military members in all. The Marines said Tuesday that the air tanker was based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and headed to California.

One of the plane’s stops was in North Carolina, presumably to pick up the seven commandos. The plane was scheduled to drop them and their equipment off for training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and fly on to a naval air field at El Centro, California. The seven commandos were from the Camp Lejeune-based 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.

Officials have not released the names of those killed. The crash is under investigation.

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