Sen. Cruz: Yesterday’s Events Are a Solemn Reminder of the Risks Our Armed Forces Face Every Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement in the wake of three separate accidents, two of which involved fatalities, suffered Thursday by the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army:

“Earlier this week we honored our nation’s fallen protectors; we remembered those that died to keep our nation free. Tragically, yesterday provided us yet another solemn reminder of the ever-present dangers facing our all-volunteer armed forces. In three separate incidents, each military department was forced to respond to events that occurred here at home, and in two of those, the lives of Americans who took an oath of service to this nation were lost. 

“The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, and the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division began yesterday conducting routine operations and training missions; they ended in sorrow. In Texas, five soldiers from Fort Hood have been declared dead, with another four soldiers missing when their truck overturned while crossing a flooded creek. Thankfully, USAF pilot Maj. Alex Turner was able to eject safely, but unfortunately his fellow Naval aviator was not. The lives of their families and friends have been torn asunder, not by combat losses in faraway places, but in sudden and unexpected accidents that occurred in the homeland. Preparing for war, training for combat conditions is inherently dangerous, and yet brave men and women across this nation routinely volunteer to face those risks. Please join Heidi and me in praying for those we lost yesterday, please pray for their families and the communities of Pensacola and Fort Hood, and lastly, please pray for the safety of those who protect us each and every day.” 

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