RALEIGH, N.C. _ Sixteen service members were killed Monday when their plane crashed in a field in rural Mississippi while on their way to routine training.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire MARSOC family at this time," the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command said in a statement. "The incredible demands of this dangerous and demanding calling forge some of the tightest unit and family bonds found in the U.S. military. This loss impacts us all."
The plane was a KC-130T, a tanker from Marine Aerial Refueling and Transport Squadron 452, a Marine Forces Reserve unit based in Fort Stewart, N.Y.
The flight originated from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point near Havelock, N.C., as the squadron was transporting personnel and equipment from there to Naval Air Field El Centro in California, the Marine Corps said in a press release. The crew and passengers consisted of 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman.
Names of those killed were being withheld pending notification of their families.
Emergency management officials in Leflore County, about 80 miles north of Jackson, Miss., said debris from the KC-130 was spread for miles across the rural area, according to The Associated Press.
Capt. Sarah Burns, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps, said the refueling tanker "experienced a mishap" but gave no further details, the AP reported.
Lt. Gen. Rex C. McMillian, commander of Marine Forces Reserve, issued this statement Tuesday: "The Marines and Sailor involved in this incident were among our finest. They dedicated their lives to our core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. They will never be forgotten."
