The United States military has confirmed the identities of six soldiers killed during the ongoing conflict with Iran after a drone strike targeted a command centre in Kuwait.
According to US Central Command, the troops died when an “unmanned aircraft system” evaded air defences and struck a tactical operations centre at Port Shuaiba on Sunday.
Initial reports indicated that three soldiers had died in the attack. However, officials confirmed on Monday that the death toll had risen to six after one soldier succumbed to injuries and two additional bodies were discovered in the rubble.
Pentagon Releases Names Of Six Soldiers Killed In Kuwait Drone Strike
The Pentagon identified the fallen service members as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M Marzan, 54; Maj Jeffrey R O’Brien, 45; Capt Cody Khork, 35; Sgt Noah Tietjens, 42; Sgt Nicole Amor, 39; and Sgt Declan Coady, 20.
Coady was posthumously promoted from specialist following his death.
All six were members of the US Army Reserve, which provides logistical and operational support to wider military missions. Four of the victims were identified on Tuesday, while Marzan and O’Brien were confirmed on Wednesday.
“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said in a statement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump plans to attend “the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families”.
She added that the Department of Defence was organising the repatriation of the soldiers’ remains.
Families And Tributes Highlight Lives Of Fallen Service Members
Capt Cody Khork, who lived in Florida, had previously been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay and Poland.
His family told the Associated Press that he had wanted to join the military from a young age and enrolled in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programme while at university.
Khork was “truly the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him”, his mother Donna Burhans, father James Khork, and stepmother Stacey Khork said in a statement.
Sgt Nicole Amor, from Minnesota, had previously served deployments in Kuwait and Iraq. “She was almost home,” her husband Joey Amor told the Associated Press. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”
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Amor is survived by a son in high school and a daughter in primary school. She enjoyed gardening and rollerblading with her children.
Sgt Noah Tietjens, who lived in Nebraska, had been deployed to Kuwait twice before. A fundraising page for his family described him as “a deeply committed husband and father”.
He also held a black belt in Taekwondo and practised a martial arts system known as Philippine Combatives.
“He did not simply wear a Black Belt… he lived it,” the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance wrote in a tribute on Facebook. “He led with integrity. He trained with purpose. He taught with humility.”
All three were decorated service members.
Youngest Soldier Among Those Killed Had “Bright Future Ahead”
Sgt Declan Coady, from Iowa, joined the Army Reserve three years ago and worked as an information technologies specialist. Drake University, where he studied, said in a statement that he had “an incredibly bright future ahead of him”.
His father, Andrew Coady, said his son “was very good at what he did”. “I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady told the Associated Press. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”
Maj Jeffrey R O’Brien, from Indianola, Iowa, joined the reserves in 2012 and was previously deployed to Kuwait in 2019. The US Army said the identification of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M Marzan, from Sacramento, California, must still be formally confirmed by a medical examiner.
Drone Strike Hits US Tactical Operations Centre In Kuwait
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a briefing on Monday that a “powerful weapon” struck a fortified tactical operations centre.
Three US military officials familiar with the incident told CBS News that the soldiers had been working in a makeshift office at the time of the attack.
According to the officials, the structure consisted of a trailer shielded by steel-reinforced concrete barriers, and questions have been raised about whether the building was adequately fortified.
The United States maintains a long-standing defence partnership with Kuwait, where more than 13,000 American troops are currently stationed.
In recent days, Iran has launched missiles targeting several Gulf nations allied with Washington. Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar have all reported strikes.
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