The Pentagon identified four of the six American Army Reserve soldiers who were killed in action as a result of President Donald Trump’s surprise war on Iran.
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, died on March 1 after a drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
“All Soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa,” the announcement stated. “The incident is under investigation.”
The other two American military personnel who were killed in action during “Operation Epic Fury” have not yet been identified.
The Defense Department shared that Khork was from Winter Haven, Florida; Tietjens was from Bellevue, Nebraska; Amor was from White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Coady was from West Des Moines, Iowa.
The six American service members were killed while inside a triple-wide trailer that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as “fortified.
The trailer, which served as an operations center, took a direct hit amid Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Kuwait after Saturday’s joint aerial bombing campaign launched by American and Israeli forces resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
CBS News reported that military officials questioned the safety of the operations center before the strike. The fortifications used to protect the center did not shield the top of the building from an overhead strike, which is what apparently killed the six service members.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell denounced the reporting on the operations center in a statement on X Tuesday.
“A Tactical Operations Center is not a ‘makeshift office space.’ The secure facility was fortified with 6-foot walls,” Parnell wrote. “Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level.”
“We will continue fighting in a way that honors our six fallen: no apologies, no hesitation,” he continued. “Epic fury for them and for every American lost at the hands of Iranian radicals.”
Iran’s Red Crescent has reported that nearly 800 people have died from Israeli and American strikes.
Trump, 79, said in a Sunday video address that “there will likely be more” American military personnel who die before the end of the conflict.
“That’s the way it is,” the president, who received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, said. “But we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”
When asked by the Daily Mail on Sunday whether he’d attend the dignified transfer of remains of the fallen U.S. service members or if he would invite their families to the White House, Trump said, “Maybe.”
“They’re great people, and, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately,” Trump told the outlet about the slain soldiers. “It could happen again.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
