Pentagon Identifies First U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iran War
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. military identified the first four American soldiers killed in the war against Iran on Tuesday, as the Trump administration warned that the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties.
Among the six U.S. soldiers killed so far, four were members of the U.S. Army Reserve’s Iowa unit. They died Sunday when a drone crashed into a U.S. military facility in Kuwait’s Shuaiba Port, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
The Pentagon said the four ranged in age from 20 to 42 and served at the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, which is part of the military’s global logistics and supply operation.
The Army identified the four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers as:
* Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
MARCH 3: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Proclamation image was provided by a third-party organization and may not comply with Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this March 3, 2026 proclamation photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve, Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida, is enlisted in the National Guard as a 13P (Multiple Launch Rocket System / Fire Direction Specialist). 2009. In 2014, he was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve. It was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021, and Poland in 2024. He was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Des Moines, Iowa. The Department of Defense announced the deaths of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers during Operation Epic Fury in Shuaiba Port, Kuwait, on March 1, 2026. (Photo: Handout/U.S. Army Reserve via Getty Images)
* Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
MARCH 3: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Proclamation image was provided by a third-party organization and may not comply with Getty Images’ editorial policy.) This proclamation photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve on March 3, 2026, shows Sergeant 1st Class Noah Tietjens, a 42-year-old resident of Bellevue, Nebraska, enlisted in the Army Reserve as a 91B in 2006. (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic). He served two missions in Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. He was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Des Moines, Iowa. The Department of Defense announced the deaths of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers during Operation Epic Fury in Shuaiba Port, Kuwait, on March 1, 2026. (Photo: Handout/U.S. Army Reserve via Getty Images)
* Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
MARCH 3: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Proclamation image was provided by a third-party organization and may not comply with Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this proclamation photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve on March 3, 2026, pictured is Sergeant 1st Class Nicole Amor, age 39, a resident of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, enlisted in the National Guard as a 92A (Automated Logistics Specialist). 2005. He transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. He was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Des Moines, Iowa. The Department of Defense announced the deaths of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers during Operation Epic Fury in Shuaiba Port, Kuwait, on March 1, 2026. (Photo: Handout/U.S. Army Reserve via Getty Images)
* Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
MARCH 3: (EDITOR’S NOTE: This Proclamation image was provided by a third-party organization and may not comply with Getty Images’ editorial policy.) In this proclamation photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve on March 3, 2026, pictured is Sergeant Declan Coady (posthumously promoted from Specialist), age 20, a resident of Des Moines, Iowa, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023. 25B (Army Information Technology Specialist). He was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Des Moines, Iowa. The Department of Defense announced the deaths of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers during Operation Epic Fury in Shuaiba Port, Kuwait, on March 1, 2026. (Photo: Handout/U.S. Army Reserve via Getty Images)
Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, who commands the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, offered his “deepest condolences and respect” to the four’s relatives and unit members in a statement.
President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned that the Iran conflict would result in the deaths of more US soldiers as Tehran retaliates for US and Israeli attacks.
Iran has so far launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones in retaliatory strikes in the Middle East, the U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday.
Risks to US forces in the Middle East are currently on the agenda: closed briefing to MPs It was made Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“They told us in that room that more Americans would die, that they couldn’t stop these drones,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said.
The facility in Kuwait, where four deaths occurred, was protected by concrete blast walls but did not have a fortified roof, two officials told Reuters.
One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether air defenses were in place, but added that no alarm was heard as the drone approached.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
