Pentagon identifies first US soldiers killed in Iran war

2026-03-04 04:52:42

Summary
Four were part of Iowa-based US Army Reserve unit
Worked as part of logistics operation
Died in drone strike on US military facility in Kuwait

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran as the ‌Trump administration warned the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties.

Among six U.S. military deaths so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa unit of the U.S. Army Reserve. They died on Sunday when a drone slammed into a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

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The Pentagon said four ranged in age from 20 to 42 and served in the 103rd Sustainment Command from Des Moines, Iowa, part of the Army’s ⁠global logistics and supply operation.

The military identified the four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers 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, who leads the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, in a statement extended “my deepest sympathy and my respect” to relatives and unit members of the four.

Most of the soldiers had a history of overseas service. Khork had deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021 and Poland in 2024. Amor deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Tietjens had two other deployments to Kuwait in 2009 ‌and ⁠2019.

Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, had only enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023.

President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned the Iran conflict will result in more U.S. military deaths as Tehran retaliates against U.S. and Israeli strikes.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said on Tuesday that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in its retaliatory attacks throughout the Middle East ⁠so far.

The risks to U.S. forces in the Middle East came up during a closed-door briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 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.

The facility in Kuwait where the four deaths occurred was ⁠protected by concrete blast walls but did not have a fortified roof, two officials told Reuters.

It was unclear if there were air defenses in place but no alarm apparently sounded as the drone approached, one of the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates

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Phil Stewart

Thomson Reuters

Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.

Idrees Ali

Thomson Reuters

National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

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