{"id":27862,"date":"2021-08-13T13:10:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T13:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/13\/its-been-nine-years-since-someone-took-marine-veteran-austin-tice-hostage\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:35:07","slug":"its-been-nine-years-since-someone-took-marine-veteran-austin-tice-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/2021\/08\/13\/its-been-nine-years-since-someone-took-marine-veteran-austin-tice-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been nine years since someone took Marine veteran Austin Tice hostage in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This past Wednesday was Austin Tice\u2019s 40th birthday. Saturday marks nine years that he has been held against his will in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine veteran who\u2019d returned to law school after multiple deployments had traveled to Syria in May 2012 to cover the civil war in that country as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2021\/08\/10\/austin-tice-fred-ryan-biden-syria-policy\/?utm_source=Sailthru&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=EBB%2008.20.21\" target=\"_blank\">freelance journalist<\/a>. He wanted to tell the story of the conflict\u2019s impact on the Syrian people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On his way out of the country \u2014 he planned to leave for Lebanon Aug. 14 \u2014 he got into a car in the southern Damascus suburb of Darayya to make the trip, but shortly after leaving he was detained at a checkpoint, according to information provided by his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At that point, Tice disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was not until five weeks later that a 43-second video titled \u201cAustin Tice is Alive\u201d was posted online showing him blindfolded and held by unidentified armed men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To this day, nine years later, no one has claimed responsibility for his capture.<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/president-biden-free-austin-tice-a-journalist-detained-in-syria-since-2012\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">The National Press Club launched a Change.org petition to encourage support to free Austin Tice<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In November 2018, then-Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Robert O\u2019Brien announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that officials believed Tice was alive. He did not provide details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation continues with the presumption that he is alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though they have participated in previous interviews with Marine Corps Times, the Tice family instead shared a written statement this year. They have taken time over these many years, on the week of Tice\u2019s capture anniversary, to gather together to reflect on the joy he has brought to their lives while also pausing to \u201cgrieve and detest\u201d his detention day of Aug. 14, 2012, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While expressing their gratitude for the support of people and organizations connected to seeking Tice\u2019s return, they also have disappointments to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are also intensely frustrated by the irresolute, on-again-off-again involvement of our government and its insufficient resolve to secure Austin\u2019s release,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But they wrote, their resolve remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"629\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tice_parents2_web.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-41202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tice_parents2_web.jpg.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tice_parents2_web.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tice_parents2_web.jpg.jpg?resize=768,403 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tice_parents2_web.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,537 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Marc and Debra Tice, the parents of Austin Tice, hold photos of their son during a July 2017 press conference in Beirut, Lebanon. (Bilal Hussein\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are now imploring a third President of the United States to communicate to his administration that Austin\u2019s secure release and safe return is a priority,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThere are many capable people working in our government who are eager to see Austin walk free; they must have President Biden\u2019s authorization for significant and relevant diplomatic engagement with the Syrian government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin Tice\u2019s parents have been critical of what they say have been bureaucratic hurdles that have stalled, stymied or even prevented negotiations for their son\u2019s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a March 2020 press briefing, then-President Donald Trump called on Syria to release Tice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have one young gentleman, Austin Tice, and we\u2019re working very hard with Syria to get him out,\u201d the president said. \u201cWe hope the Syrian government will do that. We are counting on them to do that. We\u2019ve written a letter just recently, but he\u2019s been there for a long time and was captured long ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAustin Tice. His mother is probably watching and she\u2019s a great lady,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd we\u2019re doing the best we can. So, Syria, please work with us. And we would appreciate you letting him out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Tice family learned last summer, through an excerpt in the book, \u201cThe Room Where it Happened,\u201d by former National Security Advisor John Bolton, that not everyone was on board with the idea of making Austin Tice\u2019s release a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the book, Bolton claimed Trump pushed repeatedly for hostage exchanges, but both Bolton and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saw it as \u201cundesirable\u201d for other policy goals \u2014 a reference to their aim, in early 2019, to keep a certain level of U.S. troops in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a 2020 interview with Marine Corps Times, Debra Tice said she was \u201cshocked\u201d when she read that, nearly eight years after her son had been captured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs Austin\u2019s mother, when I read this quote, my heart hears it as the former national security advisor gloating that he and the secretary of state, two Army vets, defied our president and continued to leave my son hostage in Syria,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Aug. 11, NBC Nightly News aired reporter Lester Holt\u2019s interview with Debra and Marc Tice that was equally candid and frank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWords are easy. We are really measuring more by action, which is what we don\u2019t see,\u201d Debra Tice said. \u201cThe only thing, Lester, that we\u2019ve asked since 2012 \u2014 nine years, three administrations \u2014 is direct diplomatic engagement with the Syrian government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc Tice said the family wants Biden to tell the State Department that Austin\u2019s freedom is a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added that has confidence that Austin is holding up well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think when he went to Syria, he believed firmly that he had the background, the experience, the knowledge that would enable him to operate in a different environment. And I think the same holds true for his time in captivity,\u201d Marc Tice said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Department of State leads diplomatic efforts to repatriate detained U.S. citizens. It also works with the Hostage Fusion Recovery Cell, a multi-agency team based at FBI headquarters that represents the government\u2019s unified approach to recovering American hostages abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through spokeswoman Joan Sinclair, both groups declined interview requests with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2020\/08\/14\/for-8-years-former-marine-capt-austin-tice-has-been-held-hostage\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marine Corps Times <\/a>and instead provided written comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will continue to pursue all avenues to Bring Austin Tice home,\u201d said State Department spokesman Ned Price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, a 20-year Army veteran and Green Beret, said Austin\u2019s case \u201cweighs heavily\u201d on him and his team operates under the same ethos as he did while in uniform \u2014 \u201cleave no one behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also noted that his team has the \u201cfull support\u201d of U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken in seeking Tice\u2019s safe return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will find a way to bring him home,\u201d Carstens said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robert Saale, the former HRFC director, told Marine Corps Times in 2020 that the complex and dynamic nature of conditions in Syria adversely affect efforts to free Tice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a perfect storm of circumstances, sort of inopportune times, where you\u2019ve had chemical strikes by Syrians, followed by retaliatory strikes by the U.S, government. It\u2019s kind of a two steps forward, three steps back process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On April 26, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives sent a letter to President Joe Biden pleading for more to be done. It was signed by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, where Austin Tice\u2019s parents reside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter noted the upcoming nine-year anniversary and the work the Tice family has done with the two previous presidential administrations to find Austin and secure his release. The lawmakers noted that Biden\u2019s decision to keep Ambassador Roger Carstens as the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs shows his commitment to finding and freeing Tice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe recent release of others in Syria, including one American, give Marc and Debra confidence that their son\u2019s release can also be secured,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They called upon the president to use his administration\u2019s \u201cfull capabilities to secure Austin\u2019s long-overdue release,\u201d and said they trusted Biden would follow up on previous administrations\u2019 efforts \u201cas well as talks initiated by the Syrians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When reached for comment, an aide to Cornyn, said the senator\u2019s office remains in contact with the Tice family and the State Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tice served in the Marine Corps from 2005 until his reserve status expired in 2015 and was promoted to captain in 2009. During his time in service, he deployed to Iraq twice and once to Afghanistan, according to Marine Corps records, with his last deployment coming in 2011, the year before he was detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His last duty assignment was with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marforres.marines.mil\/Major-Subordinate-Commands\/Force-Headquarters-Group\/3rd-ANGLICO\/\" target=\"_blank\">3rd ANGLICO<\/a>, Marine Forces Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tice was a private citizen and working as a freelance journalist for multiple media outlets, including the Washington Post, when he was captured. He was in a reserve status but not serving in the military when he traveled to the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through his spokesman, Eric Flanagan, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger declined an interview request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maj. Jim Stenger, a spokesman for Headquarters Marine Corps, shared a statement on behalf of the Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAustin Tice served as a Marine Corps officer with honor, and we continue to hope for his safe return home,\u201d Stenger wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2020, the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., installed a \u201cFreedom Clock\u201d at their headquarters to mark the years, days, hours, minutes and seconds since Tice was taken hostage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday, they will add up to 3,288 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FreeAustin2_NPC_14Aug2020.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-50073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FreeAustin2_NPC_14Aug2020.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FreeAustin2_NPC_14Aug2020.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FreeAustin2_NPC_14Aug2020.jpg.jpg?resize=768,511 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FreeAustin2_NPC_14Aug2020.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A \u201cFreedom Clock\u201d counting down the days since Marine veteran Austin Tice&#8217;s disappearance was installed Friday at the National Press Club in Washington. (Alan Kotok for National Press Club)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>*Correction: This article has been updated with the correct first name of Secretary of State Tony Blinken and the correct day reference for Austin Tice\u2019s birthday.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tice family wants official talks between the United States and Syria about their missing son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3393],"class_list":["post-27862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GN44J7QKKVH5TKECG6SYMJMO3A","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2021\/08\/13\/its-been-nine-years-since-someone-took-marine-veteran-austin-tice-hostage\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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