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News & Current Events May 3, 2026 at 12:37 PM

2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

Posted by ZenX22

2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco
AP News
2 US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco
Two U.S. service members are missing in southwestern Morocco after participating in military exercises, according to the United States Africa Command.
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mist_kaefer May 3, 2026 +1103
Time to comb the desert.
1103
New2ThisThrowaway May 3, 2026 +624
We ain't found shit!
624
Thor4269 May 3, 2026 +120
Thanks, Tuvok!
120
NastyMothaFucka May 4, 2026 +9
Wait thats…holy f***!
9
Lampmonster May 3, 2026 +13
Justice for Tuvix!
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technofox01 May 4, 2026 +6
I just googled it. Holy f*** you weren't kidding. Rofl dude I never knew that and that is one of my favorite Mel Brooks movies.
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beretta_vexee May 3, 2026 +138
Much of Morocco is made up of a vast mountain range, the Atlas. There are peaks over 4,100 metres high, covered in snow all year round. To the south lies an arid, rocky region known as the Anti-Atlas. The Sahara is only slightly more inhospitable and deadly than these regions. According to the article, they got lost near Tan-Tan, which is located on the coast. It’s arid, but it’s clearly not that bad and not the desert. I'd say there's a fifty-fifty chance they're drunk in a brothel.
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Excelius May 3, 2026 +20
Seems likely they might have fallen into the ocean. > The soldiers were last seen near ocean cliffs in the vicinity of the Cap Draa Training Area during scheduled training.
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Dozzi92 May 3, 2026 +28
Yeah, Cap Draa is big, flat, and right next to the ocean. The only rises in the land I recall are the one giant plateau the royal family would chill up on to watch exercises (that never happened, but that's another story). West of Cap Draa is the ocean, though, and there's a sandy hill down to it. Recon guys got everyone in trouble when we were there by f****** around, and I'm sure it's the same story here, people sneaking off to go for a swim and they disappear in the ocean.
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beretta_vexee May 3, 2026 +20
That’s the 50% I didn’t want to mention: when someone goes missing near a body of water, it’s never a good sign.
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Argos_the_Dog May 3, 2026 +36
> I'd say there's a fifty-fifty chance they're drunk in a brothel. Around here we just call that 'Wednesday'!
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HotBrownFun May 3, 2026 +5
During one of the American mini invasions of the Dominican Republic the Marines were still around trying to evacuate the last American citizen. They finally "found" him. He was the one running the whores at the hotel the Americans stayed in, the embajador.
5
ChuckOTay May 4, 2026 +1
Sounds like one simply does not walk into Morocco
1
spintowinasin May 4, 2026 +1
And here I am, drunk and not in a brothel.
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kpsi355 May 4, 2026 +1
Came here to ask if they’d checked the brothels lol
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beegtuna May 3, 2026 +17
Sir, are we being too literal?
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Toasty_McThourogood May 3, 2026 +13
No you fool, we're following orders. We were told to comb the desert, so we're combing it.
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Dozzi92 May 3, 2026 +6
I've been to this desert. They're in the ocean. It's about 1km from the ocean, down this big hill, and you can go for a nice swim.
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BillButtlickerII May 3, 2026 +18
Pulls out comically large comb. “This is still going to take awhile.”
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Firm-Rip-2133 May 3, 2026 +11
"I meant comb, not bomb!"
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No_Box498 May 4, 2026 +1
More like the ocean
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Final-Language7378 May 3, 2026 +2170
Embarrassing that this would get out before they are found
2170
RainyDayColor May 3, 2026 +143
If it’s to be believed, the take-home is that a couple of US soldiers decided to go on a spontaneous, unauthorized hike in the Moroccan dunes at 9pm Saturday night promptly upon the conclusion of their scheduled training. The contradictory media reporting, based on both official AFRICOM communique and on an “anonymous” unauthorized report, is premature, sloppy, and reflects the ongoing derogation of cohesive military discipline, coordination, and control at the top. The ~~buck~~ fuckup stops there.
143
wytewydow May 3, 2026 +36
Perhaps these two soldiers were just out for a platonic evening stroll under the Moroccan moon.
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Bruins8763 May 3, 2026 +583
Yeah I feel like it never would have seen the day of light that they were ever missing in first place if US had its way and it wasn’t Morroco releasing the info.
583
packandunpack93 May 3, 2026 +314
It’s actually Africom releasing the info, not morocco
314
sakezaf123 May 3, 2026 +303
Yeah, I disagree with the other commenter, I think think this is just emblematic of the US military's headlessness since a TV show host took overall command.
303
Jeremizzle May 3, 2026 +77
We have a tv show host running the military, and another one running the country. What a mess.
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za72 May 3, 2026 +18
and they're both amazed at how well they're running, meanwhile the bureaucracy underneath is crumbling
18
calmdownmyguy May 3, 2026 +8
They think destroying the bureaucracy *is* doing a good job. They are narcissistic and think they can do wrong and that any one wgo stands in the way of their hairbrained schemes is their enemy.
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lmdrunk May 4, 2026 +3
Don’t you worry about blank. Let me worry about blank.
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The_Lapsed_Pacifist May 4, 2026 +3
For future reference it’s “harebrained”
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calmdownmyguy May 4, 2026 +2
Appreciate it
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LKennedy45 May 3, 2026 +4
What, you're suggesting that if we had competent people in charge it might've made a difference?
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AltruisticTomato4152 May 3, 2026 +20
No, this has happened before. At NTC, about 2 decades ago, a company commander sent a team of 2 out with not enough info about how to get back to the unit and forgot about them. They died of dehydration before they were found. Can't actually find info on that one I heard about, so maybe it was a rumor. A Marine died exactly that way there in 1988. Took out for a detail, left by himself instead of in a pair, forgotten about by the detail commander and was dead before anyone knew he was missing. They found his bones months later, only 2 miles from the main camp, 17 miles from where they left him.
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ButNotInAWeirdWay May 3, 2026 +6
Depressing. and here I thought that military negligence was only a domestic thing, like at “fort hood”
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ButNotInAWeirdWay May 3, 2026 +2
Depressing. and here I thought that military negligence was only a domestic thing, like at “fort hood”
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mr_birkenblatt May 3, 2026 +30
That's why soft power is useful
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Eibermann May 3, 2026 +29
yes lets blame morocco as if the us hasnt been a clown show for the past 2 years on its own
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kogent-501 May 3, 2026 +13
It’s light of day* for the phrase you’re thinking of.
13
RusticFishies1928 May 3, 2026 +2
Day of light? You mean light of day? What's funny is Day of light is a real holiday on May 16th. So a couple weeks ago. Just. Literal day about photons
2
DownhillUphill May 3, 2026 +101
Well our military is a politicized mess
101
waffle-paladin1 May 3, 2026 +595
Fun fact Morocco was the first country to formally recognize America as a sovereign nation
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cedped May 3, 2026 +168
The US also built a navy to stop the Moroccans pirates from raiding their ships.
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Orpa__ May 3, 2026 +49
Those pirates didn't operate in Morocco but in the other barbary states, the treaty signed by the US and Morocco specifically precluded Moroccan corsairs from targetting Americans.
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Direct-Bar-5636 May 3, 2026 +87
Re-established its navy. There was the Continental Navy for the British but briefly disbanded after victory to return in 1794 for the mentioned Barbs. 6 ships were constructed, one of which was USS Constitution.
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danzilla007 May 3, 2026 +9
> Re-established its navy. Sorry, what is the point of this clarification? The US" re-established" a navy because the one that existed before the US or its constitution somehow counts as previously having a navy? What pedantic nonsense is this...
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Direct-Bar-5636 May 3, 2026 +13
Idk it was just another interesting point to add to the thread and introduce the relevant construction of the USS Constitution. Just trying to add more factual interest, not trying to downplay or belittle another’s equally interesting point on it all.
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danzilla007 May 3, 2026 +4
sure sounded like "you're actually wrong and here's why" but maybe that's just my read
4
BzhizhkMard May 3, 2026 +5
nah, I took it as a clarification that made it even more interesting and kind of was logical given the necessity for the revolutionary periods and likely colonial. Morocco, in my opinion does play a huge role in actually jump starting the institution.
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Blindmailman May 3, 2026 +8
Not Moroccans. The Moroccan navy was crippled in the early 1770s by the Dutch and afterwards they pivoted their economy towards trade hence the friendship treaty they sent to the US and literally any country they could contact with boats (funnily enough that pivot towards trade helped them survive to be one of the last African nations to be colonized). The Algerians, Tunisians and Libyans were the shits extorting money every year.
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Spinning_Torus May 3, 2026 +4
Algerians and Tunisians, not Morroco
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french_snail May 3, 2026 +6
No that was Tripoli, modern day Libya  First time the United States declared war as a sovereign country too 
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xx-shalo-xx May 3, 2026 +10
Tripoli formally recognized the United States on November 4, 1796, with the signing of the Treaty of Tripoli. A whole 2 decades after.
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french_snail May 3, 2026 +7
I replied to the wrong comment 
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gotohellwithsuperman May 3, 2026 +238
Why haven’t we deployed the heart beat detecting technology that totally exists and is real???
238
carpentuhr May 3, 2026 +104
because you have to finish the challenge you must get **15 kills while using a suppressor**
104
L0nz May 3, 2026 +9
I mean who doesn't use the suppressor
9
Thor4269 May 3, 2026 +339
Can you imagine how big of a deal this would be under a Democrat president?
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KimJongFunk May 3, 2026 +108
More or less outrage than a tan suit?
108
tlcdr May 3, 2026 +45
We'd be at Defcon Khaki.
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XennialBoomBoom May 3, 2026 +27
Ben-gah-zee
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TheDizDude May 3, 2026 +5
for sure between tan suit and spicy mustard.
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mortgagepants May 3, 2026 +16
the media has been promoting trump for a decade now. of course it would be a big deal, just like literally everything. unless it is fascism and pedophilia, then they don't bring it up.
16
Responsible-Rip8793 May 4, 2026 +2
Time to subpoena Hillary Clinton for another deposition!
2
BloodFartz69 May 3, 2026 +806
Good thing we have a dorky little TV host and a narcissistic pedophile in charge of finding them. I'm sure they have concepts of a plan.
806
InstructionPurple911 May 3, 2026 +105
Wouldn't surprise me to see a white house reality show soon.
105
flonnil May 3, 2026 +39
they would have to tone it down a little for tv though, otherwise it would not be believable.
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TheDrAlbrhect May 3, 2026 +8
This time it's three people on the same keyboard.
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XennialBoomBoom May 3, 2026 +4
Zoom! Enhance!
4
mr_birkenblatt May 3, 2026 +9
White Potus
9
eeyore134 May 3, 2026 +3
Amazon is talking about bringing back The Apprentice with Jr. I imagine it's the same deal with the devil they made for that stupid Melania movie to get made. Hopefully it does just as well.
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TheNippleViolator May 3, 2026 +4
To be fair, the CSAR operation for the downed pilot in Iran was a tactical clinic. Thankfully, there are actually highly competent people at the operational levels of the US military. Time and time again we’ve seen operational excellence on the tactical level in spite of abysmal strategic planning under this administration, and that’s thanks to 20 years of GWOT operational experience which has created a seasoned NCO core with well developed SOPs and TTPs.
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BloodFartz69 May 3, 2026 +4
Yeah, I was in the last stupid forever war the Republican party started for Israel. You're welcome for those well-developed NCOs, SOPs, and TTPs my friends gave the ones fighting this stupid Republican war.
4
MonkeyWithIt May 3, 2026 +2
How much money will this make them? None?!? Oh well, we tried nothing and couldn't find them.
2
ParanoidTurtle May 3, 2026 +101
They can just use the magical military heartbeat sensor they used to find the downed pilot to find them. 
101
zetia2 May 3, 2026 +21
According to this article, they fell off a cliff into the ocean. https://www.stripes.com/theaters/africa/2026-05-03/search-rescue-african-lion-21562827.html
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Meig03 May 3, 2026 +5
That is the most likely scenario, sadly.
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fragbot2 May 3, 2026 +47
Before anyone freaks out, this is more likely to be a couple of guys in a HMMWV got lost or had a car accident than anything untoward.
47
Cobra102003 May 3, 2026 +73
They went missing near a cliff, they likely rolled over and are now dead. Humvees are known to easily do this and it was one of the leading causes of US deaths in Afghanistan. People don’t seem to realize that more troops die or get hurt in exercises than in combat. During some points during the GWOT, it was literally safer to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan than to be in garrison in the US because of how common training deaths are.
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_Damien_X May 3, 2026 +49
I volunteered to be the gunner in a 7 ton truck during on a convoy training exercise. The driver was trying to keep up and maintain spacing with the other vehicles and we rolled over. I was ejected injured my back which I still deal with today. 0/10 wouldn’t recommend.
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Cobra102003 May 3, 2026 +19
Yep, it became such a big issue that they started putting rollover cages on turrets and harnesses on gunners in humvees and other Vic’s in Afghanistan to prevent their neck from being snapped or them being ejected. That just started a whole new issue though of guys being drowned when you rolled over into a stream or something similar cause they couldn’t get out of the harness.
19
Hoshbrowns May 3, 2026 +6
A guy I grew up going to the local park program in the summer with went to West Point out of high school. In 2016 he passed away when a LMTV flipped during a training exercise and he passed away with 8 others. It was so insanely shocking and destroyed the town because he was one of the nicest person possible and very well known. There were floods so the river they were crossing was too strong and they just got swept away apparently.
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bboycire May 3, 2026 +4
How? I mean I obviously don't know anything about these kind of things, but isn't a humvee like 2 lanes wide? How does it just roll over?
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Cobra102003 May 3, 2026 +9
Humvees are about 1 1/4 lanes wide on a narrow road. Most of the rollover issues originate from the up armoring of Humvees and the arming of humvees. Originally, they had a very low center of gravity and great handling for a vehicle of their size. As time went on, the army forgot that they procured the humvee as a back line, quick, utility vehicle. When the GWOT started the humvee was pushed into a combat roll and the US military proceeded to start sticking tons of armor on it and adding things like gun cages on the top to protect gunners. Each iteration moved the center of gravity higher and higher which has made modern humvees super prone to rolling over. The Brit’s did the same thing with the Land Rover and had similar issues. They’re still nowhere near as bad though as like an MRAP or LMTV when it comes to rollovers.
9
Dozzi92 May 3, 2026 +7
I went to Cap Draa in 2013 as part of Africa Lion back then. I hate to say it, but they probably went to the ocean, it's really close to the camp.
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GnomeChildHighlander May 3, 2026 +7
Car accident? Article says they were hiking.
7
loyalone May 3, 2026 +72
Apparently baboons according to some.
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BiscottiBig1715 May 3, 2026 +38
I beg your pardon
38
guaztronaut May 3, 2026 +27
See Bibi
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xx-shalo-xx May 3, 2026 +3
Eww no.
3
loyalone May 3, 2026 +10
I was referring to an article on the main page earlier this morning, where it was mentioned that an aide to Benyamin Netanyahu called Moroccans "baboons"
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flonnil May 3, 2026 +6
if you ever want sleep peacefully again, dont search for baboon videos on youtube.
6
GirlScoutSniper May 3, 2026 +3
I just remember the scene in The Omen, and the phrase, "Baboons are dangerous" in a British accent. LOL
3
Risc12 May 3, 2026 +2
Please explain
2
flonnil May 3, 2026 +17
they look like the cuddly-stupid type of monkey except: they had their mouths designed by the set designer of Alien 2, their characters written by Stephen King and their daily chores picked by the guy Denzel Washington plays in Training Day. They are the answer to the question: What if I took a Racoon, made him 6x the size, injected him with Testosterone and Meth, shaved his ass, gave him a chainsaw and kicked him in the nuts.
17
McMatey_Pirate May 3, 2026 +4
They will literally claw and bite your face off. It’s been well documented and there is a famous case of someone who survived this (I can’t recall her name but if you google it, you’ll find it) and she was completely unrecognizable afterwards.
4
ButIDigr3ss May 3, 2026 +20
baboons are aggressive af lol on a field trip back in high school one of the groups got attacked by a troop of baboons on a nearby hill. they were throwing rocks down onto the kids
20
otherwisepandemonium May 3, 2026 +50
Trump's threat to destroy their civilization with a social media post in 3...2...1...
50
Return-To-The-Void May 3, 2026 +22
Bridge Day, Power Station Day, Young Girl School Day!
22
Fragrant_Candle6653 May 3, 2026 +12
Ugh I hate that I’m not sure if your last part had to do either bombing or Epstein. What a time to be alive /s
12
tlcdr May 3, 2026 +7
Porque no los dos? - Marco Rubio
7
tedsmitts May 3, 2026 +5
Operation Midnight Chainsaw is a go!
5
semibiquitous May 3, 2026 +1
We need to make sure Morocco will never be able to own Weapons of Mass Destruction
1
Fun-Result-6343 May 3, 2026 +35
Just bomb Morocco, Pete. I'm sure that'll turn them up. *Bomb* Morocco, not *get bombed* in Morocco. Just to be clear. A******.
35
[deleted] May 3, 2026 +8
[deleted]
8
[deleted] May 3, 2026 +2
[deleted]
2
impressmesoon May 3, 2026 +7
Title could be somewhat misleading. They were recreationally hiking after the exercise. They did not go missing during the exercise.
7
_sonidero_ May 3, 2026 +8
Went AWOL for the Hash...
8
MotherTurdHammer May 3, 2026 +15
Survivor: Hegseth Island
15
xitizen7 May 3, 2026 +28
Where are the two pilots who were rescued from crashes in Iran?
28
AyDylo May 3, 2026 +9
We don't even know their names.. I haven't even thought of this before but it's entirely possible and even likely that we didn't rescue them. I assume Iran would have paraded them if they were found by Iran.. So either they're just dead, or the pilot story was faked to begin with? Or is there some policy that says they have to be unnamed for some reason?
9
OutlyingPlasma May 3, 2026 +9
Not the first time the military faked things to justify more war. Gulf of Tonkin anyone?
9
tb30k May 3, 2026 +2
That does add to the it was fake op to try and do a covert operation on their nuclear material theory
2
ThriftianaStoned May 3, 2026 +10
That was a lie otherwise they would have been paraded on camera for weeks
10
Hyp3rson1c May 3, 2026 +11
What the f*** are you people talking about, of course we rescued those pilots
11
Anonymous_Jr May 3, 2026 +3
There are no missing soldiers in Ba Sing Se.
3
hikeit233 May 3, 2026 +6
A casual half Benghazi. Should only take 7 congressional investigations, then.
6
Saljen May 3, 2026 +8
Oh great... Are we going to war with Morocco now?
8
PlayedUOonBaja May 3, 2026 +15
> “They were not actively taking part in any training. The day’s exercises had concluded, and, from our understanding, they were out on a recreational hike,” the official said. I f****** hate that my first thought is to doubt this. After a long day of hard work in the Moroccan Sun these soldiers decided to go for a recreational hike? Conveniently allowing the Administration to wash their hands of responsibility for them?
15
barto5 May 3, 2026 +7
> these soldiers decided to go for a recreational hike? Yeah. At 9 o’clock at night. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
7
ackackakbar May 3, 2026 +13
This must be Biden’s fault……
13
jxj24 May 3, 2026 +1
Crack teams are feverishly working to make it so...
1
[deleted] May 3, 2026 +2
[removed]
2
willows_edge May 3, 2026 +2
Read the article (and the one in the comments). They were off-duty hiking and (likely) fell off a cliff into the ocean.
2
ActivityImaginary941 May 3, 2026 +2
Why is there no database of an the lives lost during the training exercises? It seems to happen more than lives lost in war
2
HuskyBlueBoy May 3, 2026 +2
And republicans are silent because they can’t weaponize this.
2
stevedaher May 4, 2026 +2
Something something something Joe Biden
2
Creative0Flamingo May 4, 2026 +2
They defected. It was the only way out of the crusader BS.
2
Relevant-Doctor187 May 3, 2026 +6
I was missing once. Never made the news. Probably for the best. I discovered where all the embassy chicks hung out in Seoul. The Italian lady I went back packing with. She could pack a lunch. I miss her. Before we were a pariah nation of course.
6
rice_not_wheat May 3, 2026 +3
Is there a way to find out the identity of the missing soldiers? One of my employees is on this mission, and I'm worried about her.
3
NEp8ntballer May 3, 2026 +2
names will be withheld until the families are notified. The names will still likely be withheld unless they think there's something to gain by releasing names and photos.
2
Onihczarc May 3, 2026 +3
baboons must’ve got them.
3
TintedApostle May 3, 2026 +2
My guess is they saw a chance to desert before being sent to Iran.
2
generally_unsuitable May 3, 2026 +1
Has anybody seen Sirat? It's probably that kinda thing.
1
voprosy May 3, 2026 +1
Crazy story. Beautifully shot. Great soundtrack. 
1
Accomplished_Bit3153 May 3, 2026 +1
They in Marrakech, chilling
1
sycln May 4, 2026 +1
Didn’t they have that ghost murmur device?
1
Main_Significance478 May 4, 2026 +2
Ghost murmur is fake watch the Veritasium video about it, plus those two soldiers drowned...no hearts are beating anymore
2
rooftopgoblin 3 days ago +1
this is how trump is going to white wash the KIAs from the iran war
1
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