The Army has released the names of four soldiers who were killed Wednesday when the military helicopter they were on crashed near a base in Washington state.
The victims are chief warrant officers Andrew Cully and Andrew Kraus, and sergeants Donavon Scott and Jadalyn Good, the Army said Monday in a release.
Cully, 35, was from Sparta, Missouri. Kraus, 39, was from Sanibel, Florida. Scott, 25, was from Tacoma, Washington, and Good, 23, was from Mount Vernon, Washington.
They were part of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, an elite team that does nighttime missions, when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed at about 9 p.m.
The helicopter was on a routine flight training west of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The base is about 10 miles south of Tacoma under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Joint Base Headquarters.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The skies in the area were mostly clear with light winds from the south around the time of the crash, according to the National Weather Service.
L-R: Sgt. Donavon Scott, 25; Sgt. Jadalyn Good, 23; Chief Warrant Officer Three Andrew Cully, 35; and Chief Warrant Officer Three Andrew Kraus, 39.
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Cully was commissioned in May 2013 as a U.S. Army aviation officer from Missouri State University and was deployed to serve in Operation Atlantic Resolve and Operation Swift Response, according to the Army. Kraus joined the Army in 2017 and has supported multiple training missions and deployed in support of contingency response operations. Scott enlisted in the Army as a UH-60 helicopter repairer, and has served on two support missions to Operation Inherent Resolve. Good served as a helicopter maintainer and was "instrumental in the success" of numerous training missions, the Army said.
All four soldiers earned multiple awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
The soldiers "embodied the unwavering dedication, selflessness, and excellence that define the very spirit of the Army and Army Special Operations," Col. Stephen Smith said in the release.
"As we mourn their loss, we stand united in honoring their memory and their extraordinary commitment to the mission. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Night Stalker community during this profoundly difficult time," Smith said.
Their regiment's mission is to organize, equip and employ Army special operations aviation forces around the world, according to the Army's website.
"Known as Night Stalkers, these soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations," the website said. "They are highly trained and ready to accomplish the very toughest missions in all environments, anywhere in the world, day or night, with unparalleled precision."
This was the second deadly crash of this elite unit in recent years.
Five Army aviation special operations forces were killed when a helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2023 during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training. They were all part of the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In March 2024, two soldiers from the Joint Base Lewis-McChord SOAR unit were hospitalized when their Apache helicopter crashed at the base during a routine training exercise.
