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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. military is striking “Iranian-aligned militia groups” in Iraq as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed Thursday to “honor” the sacrifice of six U.S. service members killed in a plane crash there last week.
President Donald Trump, Hegseth and Caine on Wednesday attended the dignified transfer of the six fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The Pentagon said last week that the U.S. forces were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during a combat mission in support of Operation Epic Fury.
Caine said Thursday that in Iraq, AH-64 helicopters “have been striking against Iranian-aligned militia groups to make sure that we suppress any threat in Iraq against U.S. forces or U.S. interests.”
“And we remain focused on pursuit of any platform that Iran could field to harm Americans or our partners,” he added.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Reflecting on the fallen U.S. service members, Hegseth said, “Yesterday at Dover Air Force Base, President Trump, the chairman, and I stood in solemn silence as heroes came home.”
“Flag-draped caskets. We honored them. We grieved with their families, and we listened. What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family. They said, ‘finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.’ My response, along with that of the president, was simple — of course, we will finish this. We will honor their sacrifice,” Hegseth said.
“Yesterday’s ceremony reminded us why we fight. Not for nation building or democracy promotion, but to crush direct threats to America, Americans, and our interests. We fight to win, and we are winning, on our terms, following our objectives,” he continued.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth salutes, as he and President Donald Trump arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
“My 13-year-old son popped into my office last night while I was editing these remarks. He asked about the war and the families I met at Dover, and I looked at him and I said, ‘They died for you, son, so that your generation doesn’t have to deal with a nuclear Iran’,” Hegseth also said. “It’s the truth. And they did. So to the families who said, ‘finish this,’ we will. And I say the same to every American who wants peace through strength. May Almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. And again to the American people, please pray for them, every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ. To the troops, keep going and Godspeed.”
Those killed were Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33; Maj. Ariana Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Master. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28.
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling tanker aircraft takes off from the Kadena Air Base, west of Okinawa, southern Japan, in August 2023. (Hiro Komae/AP)
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Caine said at the Pentagon Thursday that, “Our nation will never forget their sacrifice, and we will never forget their names,” and, “Our entire joint force mourns with you today.”
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.