U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Seth “Jethro” Nehring has been killed in the crash of a Su-27 fighter aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force during the Clear Sky 2018 exercise in Vinnytsia region, according to the Facebook page of the 144th Fighter Wing, a unit of the California Air National Guard.
“It’s with a heavy heart we share the news that we lost a member of our team yesterday. Lt. Col. Seth ‘Jethro’ Nehring, assigned to the 194th Fighter Squadron, was killed on October 16 in an SU-27 plane crash in Ukraine. Jethro was deployed to Ukraine for the Clear Sky 2018 exercise,” reads the report.
It notes that Nehring was serving as the Operations Officer in the Joint Operations Center, meaning he was the liaison between the exercise director, Maj. Gen. Garrison and all flying operations.
“He was handpicked for this position due to his operational experience and long history with our unit. Jethro has been a member of the 144th family for over 20 years. He began his career here as an enlisted crew chief before being selected for a pilot slot and flew the F-16 Viper for over 15 years and converted to the F-15 Eagle,” reads the report.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces expressed condolences to the family and relatives of the deceased pilot.
