Defense chief pledges to ‘learn lessons’ after fatal accidents

Defense Secretary Ash Carter pledged Friday that the military will learn from two separate accidents that left six service members dead.

“Yesterday, Thursday, in the United States, was a tough day for the U.S. military,” Carter said at the beginning of a press conference in Singapore, where he is attending a regional security conference. “With respect to the fact that both of these were losses as safety issues in training, we’re going to make sure that we learn lessons that we can from the investigations we conduct after these incidents.”

{mosads}On Thursday, five soldiers were killed when their troop carrier overturned in a flooded creek during a training mission near Fort Hood in Texas. Three soldiers were rescued and four remain missing.

In a separate accident, a Navy Blue Angels pilot died when his F/A-18 fighter jet crashed during takeoff at an afternoon practice in Tennessee.

Carter promised to use the investigations to “take actions in the future to prevent such accidents and keep our people safe,” he said.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with the family of those who [were] lost,” he added.

Also Thursday, an Air Force Thunderbird jet crashed in Colorado, but the pilot ejected and was unharmed. 

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Thursday’s trio of incidents is part of an “alarming” trend.

“We don’t yet know all the details of these incidents, but they are the latest in an alarming increase of significant military accidents,” he said in a written statement Friday. “Those who have died and their families deserve a full, objective, complete look at the circumstances and any deeper causes that should be addressed.”