FORT STEWART, Ga. — United States Army officials have identified the two soldiers who were killed in a vehicle crash during a training exercise on Thursday night at Fort Stewart.
Staff Sgt. Shelbe Butner, 28, and Spc. Jacob Mullen, 25, were killed in the single-vehicle crash. Both were assigned to 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.
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During the exercise near Camp Oliver, Butner and Mullen were operating a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle in complete darkness. The vehicle rolled off the road and into standing water.
Other members of their unit came to give them CPR until emergency services arrived.
“Our hearts are broken at this devastating loss,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, the 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, “Shelbe and Jacob were honored and highly respected Soldiers of the Marne Division, and our thoughts and prayers are with their Families and fellow Soldiers at this incredibly difficult time.”
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Butner, a Missouri native, had been in the Army for nine years and had been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Assault Badge and the Drill Sergeant Badge.
Mullen, a Maryland native, had been in the Army for seven years and had previously been deployed to Poland. He had been awarded Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
The U.S. Army’s Combat Readiness Center, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps are investigating the crash.
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