The U.S. government has said six U.S. service members have been killed in the military operation that started early Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones in nearby countries.
At least five of the six U.S. service members, all of them Army reservists, died when a drone struck a port in Kuwait on Sunday, military officials said.
They were identified as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39; Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20; and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45.
A sixth soldier, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, is believed to have died at the scene of the attack, the Defense Department said.
Capt. Cody A. Khork
Khork, 35, was from Winter Haven, Florida. He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014, the military said.
Khork’s friend Abbas Jaffer posted photos of them together on Instagram.
“To my best friend, best man, and forever brother. I’m eternally grateful to have shared countless adventures, stories, and shenanigans with over the past 16 years,” Jaffer said.
“You’re the kindest and best person I’ve ever known. There’s not enough words to describe how I feel,” he added. “RIP my brother. Until we meet again.”
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens
Tietjens, 42, was from Bellevue, Nebraska. Tietjens joined the Army Reserve as a wheeled vehicle mechanic in 2006.
Tietjens was a black belt in martial arts and was very dedicated to the craft, Julius Melegrito, one of the instructors at Martial Arts International in Bellevue, said in an interview.
Melegrito said that whenever Tietjens wasn’t out on deployment, he was supporting his family’s journey in martial arts and hanging out around the dojo.
Tietjens joined in 2008, and the family are all black belts now.
Melegrito described Tietjens as confident, respectful and easy to get along with. He said that when his wife met Tietjens, she said: “This is the kind of guy who always makes you feel welcome.”
Tietjens would man the door at Martial Arts International events because of his “strict but friendly” nature, Melegrito said, calling Tietjens “the kind of person that gives.”
“He died giving for his country,” he said. Tietjens was “very well respected by others. He has that confidence, but he has that friendliness, as he deals with all different kinds of individuals.”
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor
Amor, 39, was from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Amor joined the National Guard in 2005 and transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006, Army Reserve Command said. She deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said on X that Amor “made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country.”
“Our hearts are with her family, loved ones, and all those in our armed forces,” Klobuchar said.
Spc. Declan J. Coady
Coady, 20, was from West Des Moines, Iowa. Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023, the command said.
Coady was a student at Drake University in Des Moines. The school said on Facebook that it was “heartbroken” to learn of his death.
He was “a well-loved and highly dedicated Drake University student studying information systems, cybersecurity, and computer science,” according to the post.
“He has bravely served in the U.S. Army Reserves since 2023 as an Information Technologies Specialist and had an incredibly bright future ahead of him,” Coady’s university said. “In moments like these, we must all come together to show much-needed love and compassion for the Coady family through this incredibly difficult time.”
His sister Keira Coady described him Wednesday in a family statement as smart, kind, an avid gamer and a beloved member of ROTC at Drake University.
Coady died on his way to the hospital after he was injured in the airstrike in Kuwait, the statement said.
“On Sunday, March 1, after trying to check in, we heard nothing. Trying to be positive we all assumed he was just in a situation where he couldn’t message back, but we all knew something was wrong,” the statement said. “At 8 p.m. as we all were getting ready to go to bed, the doorbell rang, and the rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives. While it’s all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant.”
Keira remembered her brother as reserved but passionate.
“He was supposed to be 21 on May 5. He was just a baby, and will forever be mine and Aidan’s baby brother, Rowan’s older brother, and our parents’ son,” she wrote.
“He was truly a rock in all of our lives and was just the most amazing brother and son my family could have asked for,” she added.
John Crandall, Coady’s uncle, remembered his nephew as an “incredibly gifted young man.” He was a former Eagle Scout who followed his older brother’s footsteps in joining the Army, with dreams of becoming an officer, Crandall told NBC’s “TODAY” show.
“There was just something beautiful about him, something amazing, something very intelligent about him,” he said. “He put himself in a position where many people will never go.”
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien
O’Brien, 45, was from Indianola, Iowa, the Pentagon said.
Additional information was not immediately available.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan
Marzan, 54, was from Sacramento, California. He is believed to have died at the scene of the drone attack, but medical officials are still awaiting positive identification from the medical examiner, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Additional information about a possible cause of death was not immediately available.
All six service members were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, military officials said.
In addition to those who died, 18 other U.S. service members have suffered serious injuries, a U.S. official told NBC News on Monday.
“We honor our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation. Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a statement.
The U.S. and Israel launched attacks in Iran around 1:15 a.m. ET Saturday, using “precision munitions launched from air, land and sea” and one-way drones, Central Command has said.
Iran’s Red Crescent said nearly 950 people have been killed in Israeli and American strikes. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was also killed.
Iran responded to the U.S. and Israeli strikes by launching missiles and drones at targets in surrounding nations. Deaths were reported in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday that it launched 230 attack drones on a U.S. base in Erbil, Iraq, and the U.S. Ali Al Salem and Arifjan bases in Kuwait, the semiofficial Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
The military action could last weeks, President Donald Trump said Monday. “We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” he said.
Trump and other administration officials have said the U.S. attacked Iran because of an imminent threat and after nuclear talks failed to reach an agreement.
Some members of Congress have questioned that assessment and Trump’s power to attack Iran without seeking approval from Congress. Democrats and some Republicans plan to force a war powers vote that could restrict Trump’s ability to carry out further attacks in Iran.