3 Georgia soldiers killed in Jordan were based at Fort Moore, Pentagon announces

Caption

Specialist Kennedy Sanders, of Waycross, Ga., was one of the three service members killed in a drone attack in Jordan on Jan. 28, 2024.

Credit: U.S. Army

President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. “shall respond” after three American troops were killed and dozens more were injured in an apparent drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, the Associated Press reported.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Army Reserve soldiers who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

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., died Jan. 28, 2024, in Jordan, when a one way unmanned aerial system (OWUAS) impacted their container housing units. The incident is under investigation.

Rivers, Sanders and Moffett were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Ga.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued a statement of condolences:  "Marty, the girls and I are saddened to learn of the deaths of three service members based out of Georgia," the statement said. "These soldiers gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country. This inexcusable loss of life and the attack from terrorists that resulted in these casualties is a reminder of why we stand with the friends of liberty. The entire Kemp family asks that Georgians everywhere join us in keeping the loved ones of those lost in the attacks in our thoughts and prayers in the days ahead."

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson also extended his condolences: "The City of #Savannah joins me in mourning the heartbreaking loss of three  U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from Georgia who were killed when an unmanned aerial drone impacted their container housing units in Jordan," he wrote on Facebook. "One of these soldiers was our very own,  Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, a Windsor Forest High School graduate. While we sort out the details of what happened in Jordan, we know who it happened to —heroes. My thoughts and prayers are extended to the families of these patriots, the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, GA. May we always remember that freedom is not free."

Carroll County Sheriff's Office posted on its Facebook page: "We join our community as we mourn the loss of this brave solider, Sergeant William Jerome Rivers, 46 of Carrollton who tragically lost his life in a drone strike on a military outpost in Jordan yesterday. We salute you and your family for your selfless sacrifice to our nation and we will never take for granted our freedoms that you and so many other men and women bravely defend each day ... Georgia suffered a tremendous loss yesterday and we pray for our state, our nation, and all those who serve."

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) released a statement: "It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of a former student, Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, a soldier in the Army Reserve who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Ms. Moffett graduated from Windsor Forest High School in 2019.  We are deeply grateful for her service to our country and mourn her loss with her family and our community."

The Associated Press reported that the 24-year-old Army reservist Kennedy Sanders and her family were already looking ahead to summer when she was scheduled to return to Waycross, the hometown where she helped coach soccer and basketball and worked at a pharmacy while taking college courses with the aim of becoming an X-ray technician.

Sanders was a native of Ware County, some 200 miles southeast of Fort Moore. 

Scott Moye is the Ware County Manager.

"I had no idea that that one of the ones that lost their life was, one of our own, from our county," Moye said. "She actually graduated with my youngest daughter."

Moye told GPB he quickly penned a county proclamation to drop flags to half staff. 

"It was a way for us recognizing one of our own from her home county," he said.

Moye said flags will remain lowered in Ware County — in the words of the proclamation — "until the sun sets on the day of her interment."

This is a developing story.