Sacramento native one of five soldiers killed in Army helicopter crash in Mediterranean Sea
The Army has identified a Sacramento soldier as one of five service members killed Friday in a helicopter crash during a training exercise over the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Pentagon.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, was among the special operations aviation soldiers who died in the crash. Barnes, who grew up in the Sacramento area, was remembered Monday as a devoted father of two and an aviator with a passion for service, said his brother, Joshua Barnes.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, were also killed.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.
“This is devastating news that reverberates across the entire Special Operations community,” Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said in a statement Monday. “Every loss is tough, but in this case, service to the nation is truly a family business and it’s hard to express the amount of sorrow that we all feel right now.”
Braga added that the soldiers come from “rare patriotic families with deep military service ties that span multiple generations,” according to Stars and Stripes.
Barnes was special operations aviator
The soldiers, assigned to the “Night Stalkers” of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, were participating in an aerial refueling training exercise when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter experienced and “in-flight emergency,” according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
The team was among the thousands of troops the Pentagon dispatched to the Mediterranean and Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7.
“These teammates demonstrated the highest level of dedication to the 160th SOAR and their exemplary service in the Army is the embodiment of what it means to be a Night Stalker and a soldier,” 160th commander Col. Roger P. Waleski Jr. said in a statement.
President Joe Biden mourned the men’s deaths Sunday, saying in a statement that service members “put their lives on the line for our country every day. They willingly take risks to keep the American people safe and secure. And their daily bravery and selflessness is an enduring testament to what is best in our nation.”
“Jill and I are praying for the families and friends who have lost a precious loved one — a piece of their soul,” he said. “Our entire nation shares their grief.”
Army officials said there were “no indications the crash was caused by enemy / hostile actions.” The Army’s Combat Readiness Center is investigating the crash.
Sacramento soldier killed in helicopter crash remembered as devoted pilot, loving family man
Barnes was Jesuit grad, father of two
Barnes and his family, including two daughters, lived in the Fort Campbell area of Kentucky where the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is based.
Barnes, who grew up in the Carmichael area, graduated from Jesuit High School in 2007, where his mother, Kelly, was a longtime leader in its campus ministry program. His father, Mike, and brother, Josh, were also graduates of Jesuit.
Kelly and Mike retired in 2021 and had moved to Kentucky to be closer to Barnes and their grandchildren, according to Jesuit High officials.
Shane Barnes was a 2011 graduate of Gonzaga University and attended flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, before serving as a Black Hawk pilot in South Korea. He also was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and missions in Iraq, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and other valor awards.
Barnes is the latest Sacramento region service member to have died in a training accident.
Capt. John Sax of Placer County was killed in 2022 when his Osprey crashed during a Southern California training exercise. In 2021, Sgt. Nicole Gee of Roseville was killed by a suicide bomber during the evacuation of Afghanistan. Folsom resident Sgt. Tyler Vargas Andrews was also seriously injured during the attack but survived.
