The U.S. Army tested temporary battlefield burial procedures at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to assess how fallen service members’ remains could be preserved for identification and return to the United States, the Army said.
Soldiers from the 3rd Corps Sustainment Command and 20th Engineer Brigade joined chaplains and other religious support personnel in the exercise. Participants used excavators to evaluate methods for keeping remains intact until forensic and anthropological teams could identify them and arrange their return, according to an Army statement.
Newsweek reported that the drill rehearsed how troops might manage a large number of deaths during an active conflict.
Sgt. 1st Class Delbert Ruede of the 3rd Corps Sustainment Command said in the Army statement, “If we went to war tomorrow, we would be making this up as we went along.”
NDTV reported that chaplains and religious affairs personnel took part in religious-support training for temporary battlefield burials for the first time in more than 20 years.
