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U.S. and Ukrainian pilots embrace following the closing ceremony for Clear Sky 2018 at Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 19, 2018. Both sides suffered tragedy during the exercise, as a training accident claimed the lives of one U.S. pilot, Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring, and one Ukrainian pilot, Col. Ivan Petrenko. Both were killed when the SU-27 Petrenko was flying with Nehring in the back seat on a routine familiarization training flight crashed on Oct. 16. “While we speak different languages, we are tightly bound together through shared values, such as friendship, family and freedom,” said Maj. Gen. Clay Garrison, California Air National Guard commander and Clear Sky exercise director. “Although our planes and people will depart over the next few days, and although we’ve been mourning together the last few days, we want you to know that our hearts will remain in Ukraine forever.”