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Sgt. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett. Staff Sgt. William Jerome Rivers. Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders.
These three U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone strike at a U.S. base in Jordan on Jan. 28. Each were U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from an engineer battalion in Georgia. And each returned home to the U.S. Friday in what is known as a dignified transfer, where fallen soldiers’ remains are brought back from abroad to be sent to their final resting place.
They were met Friday by their families, along with the commander-in-chief.
“This is not the homecoming for Kennedy I dreamed about,” Sanders’ father, Shawn Sanders, wrote in a Friday morning Facebook post, according to the Associated Press. “Now, I can’t stop reliving this nightmare.”
Kennedy Sanders, 24, and Breonna Moffitt, 23, both operated heavy equipment and became friends after joining the reserve. They were both posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
“She lived a big life for only 24 years,” Sanders’ mother, Oneida Sanders, said to Atlanta TV station 11 Alive. “Live your life like Kennedy. Do what you want to do. Set goals and live life. You never know when the end is here.”
“She always had a smile on her face. She always loved her friends. She always loved her family. She always just commanded attention,” Moffett’s mother, Fancine Moffett, told 11 Alive about her daughter. “And she just loved life. She was definitely going to re-enlist and do one more tour because she wanted to become a sergeant. And she wanted to become a realtor part-time.”
Rivers, 46, enlisted in 2011 as an interior electrician and was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant, according to Stars and Stripes. His wife told Atlanta TV station WSB-TV that he was “always smiling, always happy, always worried about his family, always took care of his family, a very hard worker for his family.”
Friday’s ceremony was largely silent, except for military commands and a brief prayer. President Joe Biden watched on and spoke with the families privately beforehand. He had also provided remarks about the fallen soldiers earlier last week.
“These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country — risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism,” Biden said. “It is a fight we will not cease.”
The drone attack, which also injured over 40 servicemembers, has been attributed to militant groups with ties to Iran. It requires a proportional response that sends a message without entrenching the U.S. a larger conflict. That is a delicate balance, but it is one that must be found.
National grief must not overwhelm reason and caution. The response is ongoing, with the U.S. starting to launch airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday. The Biden administration must be careful not to further escalate an already tense situation in the Middle East, and Congress must ensure that it safeguards its constitutional role to authorize (or not authorize) military force.
The attack and the lives lost also require careful reassessment of the air defense processes and technology in place that failed to prevent the drone attack damage. Reports indicate that the attacking drone may have been mistaken for a returning U.S. drone rather than an enemy one. As a result, there has been some discussion between Congress and the Pentagon about anti-drone capabilities. A reassessment is needed to prevent this type of situation and this loss of life in the future.
That much and more is owed here at home to Breonna Moffett, William Jerome Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and their families.
Sanders’ father went on to say that “kindness and outpouring of love” was “the only thing holding me up” since his daughter was killed. We join in that support for these three grieving families.
