President Joe Biden spoke on Tuesday with the relatives of the three U.S. service members who were killed this weekend in Jordan, according to a White House spokesperson.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga were killed in the drone strike on Sunday that targeted a small U.S. military base in northeast Jordan, known as Tower 22.
“He was grateful for their time,” national security council coordinator John Kirby said on Tuesday. “He expressed to them how proud we all are of their service, how we mourn and feel sorrow over their loss, made sure that those families knew that not only was that service and sacrifice going to be honored, but that they would continue to get the support that they need as they work through what no family wants to have to go.”
The families expressed support for him to attend the dignified transfer at Dover Air Base in Delaware, so the president will be present there on Friday.
A dignified transfer is the process by which a fallen service member who was killed overseas is returned to the U.S. and transported from the aircraft to an awaiting transfer vehicle. It will then take the fallen to a mortuary facility for positive identification and preparations for their final resting place.
More than forty U.S. troops were injured in Sunday’s attack, which the U.S. has said was carried out by Iranian-supported militias in Iraq. They have carried out 165 of these attacks against U.S. bases in Syria, Iraq, and now Jordan. Roughly 120 troops have been injured in these attacks including the fatal one over the weekend, though this was the first time a U.S. service member was killed.
Biden is facing pressure to hit back at Iran for their proxies’ continued attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East. The U.S. has already launched airstrikes against many of the militias’ facilities, though there are expectations that the response will be more significant given the loss of life.
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He said on Tuesday he had decided how the U.S. will respond but did not share any details.
Some hawkish lawmakers have urged the president to include targets within Iran, though others are concerned that it could lead the U.S. into a full-blown war with Tehran.
