Pictured: First US service personnel killed in Iran war after drone strike on Kuwait base
The first US military personnel to be killed in the Iran war have been named and pictured for the first time.
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The US Department of Defense confirmed the identity of four of the six fatalities in the Middle East so far on Tuesday night.
The Pentagon said the soldiers, who died in an Iranian strike on a tactical operations centre in Kuwait, were:
- Captain Cody A Khork (Aged 35, from Winter Haven, Florida)
- Sergeant First Class Noah L. Tietjens (Aged 42, from Bellevue, Nebraska)
- Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Amor (Aged 39, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota)
- Sergeant J Coady (Aged 20, from West Des Moines, lowa)
Officials confirmed that the four died in Port Shuaiba after an attack by Iranian drones on the military installation.
"We honor [sic] our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense [sic] of our nation", said Lieutenant General Robert Harter, chief of the US Army Reserve.
Lt. Gen Harter added: "Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten."
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All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines.
The Pentagon has confirmed the incident is under investigation.
Major General Todd Erskine said: "To the families and teammates of these Cactus Nation Soldiers: you have my deepest sympathy and my respect.
"Our nation is kept safe by folks like these brave men and women who put it all on the line every single day. They represent the heart of America. We will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice."
Captain Khork enlisted in the Florida National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014.
He deployed to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay, and Poland before being sent to Kuwait.
Sergeant Amor enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 before being transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006.
She was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
Sergeant Tietjens enlisted in the Reserve in 2006 and had two deployments to Kuwait, in 2009 and 2019.
Sergeant Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant, enlisted in the US Army Reserve in 2023.
Two more US service personnel were killed in the initial stage of the war, but have remained nameless according to US Army protocol.