President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to join the families of the three soldiers who were killed in a drone strike in Jordan last weekend. The group will be at an American Air Force base for the dignified transfer of their remains.
The Bidens, along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Q.C. Brown, will join the families privately Friday before continuing to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware where they will have the dignified transfer of the bodies of the service members.
“Our prayers continue to be with the families of the three American servicemen killed and attacked in the [base] in Jordan. They’ve raised their lives in harms way. They risked it all and we’ll never forget the sacrifice of their service to our country…” said the President at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, 2 Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, were identified as the victims of the drone strike that occurred Sunday, Jan. 28. All three were Georgia natives and were stationed at Fort Moore ahead of deployment.
The Defense Department said the three were stationed in Jordan near the Syrian border to support Operation Inherent Resolve and ensure the defeat of ISIS. Moffett and Sanders were posthumously promoted to sergeant rank, according to The AP.
The emotional event comes years after the last time we saw reports of Army fatalities. The AP’s reported it’s been since 2021 when 13 service members were killed in Afghanistan. Tensions appeared to boil down after U.S. troops were being withdrawn from overseas.
Flags are expected to be lowered to half staff once again as Biden attends the second dignified transfer of his presidency.