The U.S. military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran, as the administration of Donald Trump warned that the intensifying conflict could result in further U.S. casualties.
The four were among six U.S. service members killed so far in the conflict. They were members of an Iowa-based unit of the United States Army Reserve and died on Sunday when a drone struck a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.
According to the Pentagon, the soldiers — aged between 20 and 42 — served in the 103rd Sustainment Command from Des Moines, Iowa, part of the Army’s global logistics and supply network.
The fallen soldiers were identified as:
Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
Major General Todd Erskine, commander of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, expressed “deepest sympathy and respect” for the families and fellow service members of the four soldiers.
Most of the troops had prior overseas deployments. Khork had served in Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021, and Poland in 2024. Amor deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019, while Tietjens had previous assignments in Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. Coady, who enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023, was posthumously promoted from specialist.
The strike underscores growing risks to U.S. forces across the Middle East. The U.S. military’s United States Central Command said Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in retaliatory attacks throughout the region.
The escalating threat was discussed during a closed-door briefing to lawmakers by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said officials warned lawmakers that additional American deaths are likely and acknowledged difficulties in stopping the drone attacks.
Two officials told Reuters that while the Kuwait facility was protected by concrete blast walls, it did not have a reinforced roof. It remains unclear whether air defense systems were in place, and one official said no alarm sounded as the drone approached.
The incident marks a significant escalation in the conflict, raising fresh concerns over the safety of U.S. forces stationed across the Middle East.