Service & Sacrifice: Prayers for the Injured
A snapshot of the burdens being shouldered by brave U.S. troops and military families around the world.
An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter flies a training mission over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on May 31, 2023.
Middle East
Nearly two dozen U.S. troops are recovering from their injuries after a military helicopter crashed in northeastern Syria this past Sunday.
U.S. Central Command publicly announced the crash on Monday, saying in a press release that 22 American service members were hurt in a “helicopter mishap” that resulted in ten being “evacuated to higher care facilities.” Military.com reports that number has since risen to 15.
Military.com’s Konstantin Toropin cites a Pentagon spokesman as saying “while the issue is still under investigation, the current understanding is the crash occurred while landing at a staging base, not during takeoff.” The helicopter was reportedly an MH-47 Chinook that “had a problem with one rotor, causing a hard landing during takeoff.” No enemy fire is believed to have occurred.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the injured soldiers are “part of the Army’s highly secretive Delta Force commando unit, which has previously carried out kill-or-capture raids against [ISIS] militants in that part of the country.” As we at The Stream frequently try to remind our readers, there are about 900 U.S. military personnel currently serving in Syria, with another 2,500 in neighboring Iraq.
Please join us in praying for these 22 injured soldiers, their families and all the selfless members of our nation’s military serving in the Middle East. We ask God to protect these heroes and heal the wounded.
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Europe
As American and European officials discuss how to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia ahead of its expected admission into NATO, more than 100,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed around the continent.
Those deployed troops are being joined by a group of U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from Wisconsin, who will be deployed to Europe for a year. WMTV reports that the brave men and women gathered with their loved ones and fellow soldiers this past Saturday in Madison to say goodbye.
“It’s the joy of all being together as a family one last day, but also there is that emotion in the back of mind of sadness, and realizing that these soldiers and this entire unit is gonna be away from a while.” https://t.co/HvotROdVLL
— NBC15 News (@nbc15_madison) June 11, 2023
“We have a lot of junior enlisted who are under the age of 21,” U.S. Army Reserve 1st Lt. Marshall Jeppeson told the TV station. “They have done some amazing things in their young lives already and this is a lot of their first deployments. So this is gonna be a huge step in the next direction for them. It’s gonna boost their military careers and it’s gonna cause a lot of stories to be told as soon as we get home.”
All of us at The Stream thank these valiant young soldiers for volunteering to defend our freedom. We will be praying for their safe return.
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Coming Home
A group of Vermont Army National Guard soldiers recently returned home from Europe, where they participated in a large NATO training exercise.
Vermont Army National Guard soldiers return home from a NATO training exercise in Europe to South Burlington, Vermont, on June 3, 2023.
Welcome home, warriors! Thank you for serving our country overseas.
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the recently released Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on Twitter @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.
