US identifies four Army Reserve soldiers killed by a drone strike in Kuwait, first American fatalities in Iran conflict.
The Pentagon has identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran, as the Trump administration warns that the intensifying conflict is likely to claim more US lives.
Among six US military deaths confirmed so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa-based unit of the US Army Reserve. They were killed on Sunday when a drone struck a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, according to military officials.
The Pentagon said the soldiers, aged between 20 and 42, served in the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa a key component of the Army’s global logistics and supply operations.
The military identified the fallen US Army Reserve soldiers as Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Specialist Coady, who was posthumously promoted, had enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023.
Major General Todd Erskine, commander of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, extended “my deepest sympathy and my respect” to the families and fellow service members of the four soldiers in a statement.
Several of the soldiers had previously deployed overseas. Khork served in Saudi Arabia in 2018, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021 and in Poland in 2024. Amor deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019, while Tietjens completed earlier deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019.
President Donald Trump and other senior officials have cautioned that the expanding conflict with Iran is likely to result in additional American casualties as Tehran continues retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli targets.
The US military’s Central Command said Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones across the Middle East since hostilities intensified.
The growing risks to US personnel were addressed during a closed door briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“They told us in that room that there are going to be more Americans that are gonna die that they are not going to be able to stop these drones,” Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said after the briefing.
Officials said the facility in Kuwait was protected by concrete blast walls but lacked a fortified roof.
It remains unclear whether air defense systems were active at the time of the strike, and one official said no alarm sounded as the drone approached.
Investigations into the attack are ongoing as US forces brace for further escalation in the region.
