{"id":34556,"date":"2026-03-24T21:57:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/34556\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T21:57:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:57:06","slug":"katie-britt-senate-republicans-pass-resolution-to-honor-airmen-killed-in-refueling-plane-crash-over-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/34556\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Britt, Senate Republicans pass resolution to honor airmen killed in refueling plane crash over Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA<\/a>) – Alabama U.S. Senator Katie Britt and other members of congress took a moment recently to honor six U.S. service members who were killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq. <\/p>\n

Senators Tommy Tuberville, Todd Young, Jim Banks, Bernie Moreno, John Husted and Tim Sheehy cosponsored a resolution to remember the fallen airmen, which passed the Senate unanimously. <\/p>\n

Major Alex Klinner<\/a>, Capt. Ariana Savino, and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt served with the 99th Air Refueling Squadron at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham.<\/p>\n

Klinner was a 33-year-old Auburn graduate with a degree in Mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n

Each senator released a brief statement following the resolution\u2019s passing: <\/p>\n

\u201cOur nation will be forever grateful to these American heroes for their exemplary service and ultimate sacrifice. While their lives were tragically cut short in devoted service to our country, we will never forget their selflessness as they bravely fought to protect and defend Americans. We are deeply proud to honor them in this resolution and continue to pray for their families and loved ones during this unthinkable time,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see flag-draped caskets carrying heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, it\u2019s a sobering reminder of the cost of America\u2019s freedom. Each of these service members showed generational courage, and this resolution is just a small part of ensuring their stories are never forgotten. Our prayers continue to be with their brave families and loved ones as they navigate this horrific loss,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to mourn the loss of Hoosier Captain Seth Koval and the Airmen who perished while bravely answering the call to serve. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice these American heroes made and will continue to pray for their loved ones,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur nation is grateful for the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We will never forget their courage and selfless service. Please join Amanda and I in praying for Captain Seth Koval\u2019s family and all the families impacted,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerica is indebted to Curtis Angst, Tyler Simmons, and Seth Koval for their service and sacrifice to protect our freedoms. Their loss is devastating for our country, and I join all Ohioans in praying for their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs our nation mourns these heroes, it is vital that we honor their legacy of service and sacrifice. This resolution is one way to do just that. The families and loved ones of Capt. Koval, Capt. Angst and Master Sgt. Simmons of the Ohio National Guard, as well as Maj. Klinner, Maj. Savino and Tech. Sgt. Pruitt, remain in Tina\u2019s and my prayers. These brave servicemembers carried out dangerous and critical missions in defense of our country, and we will be forever grateful for their sacrifice,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs somebody who lost friends in combat, it is always devastating to hear of the loss of a fellow servicemember who put their life on the line to fight for our nation. The brave Americans we are recognizing today were supporting a righteous mission and must be honored for their service and sacrifice. As we keep the families of the fallen in our prayers, let us also renew our commitment to supporting the men and women who protect America and our way of life,\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command said the circumstances of the crash are under investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was \u201cnot due to hostile or friendly fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store<\/a> and the Google Play Store<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WSFA. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Alabama U.S. Senator Katie Britt and other members of congress took a moment recently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1124,94,15559,179,212,15561,15560,15562,36,1705,12087,12086,15558],"class_list":{"0":"post-34556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iraq","8":"tag-d-c","9":"tag-iraq","10":"tag-katie-britt","11":"tag-military","12":"tag-operation-epic-fury","13":"tag-six-airmen","14":"tag-tommy-tubberville","15":"tag-u-s-congress","16":"tag-war","17":"tag-washington","18":"tag-wfsa","19":"tag-wsfa","20":"tag-wsfa-12-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116286393062120276","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}