Pentagon names four of six U.S. troops killed in Kuwait drone strike

The Pentagon on Tuesday released the names of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who were among six service members killed when an unmanned aircraft struck a U.S. facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. The Defense Department identified the four as Capt. Cody A. Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor and Spc. Declan J. Coady, all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa. Two other service members killed have not been publicly identified pending notification of next of kin.

Department officials said the service members died March 1 when an unmanned aircraft system exploded at a U.S. site in Port Shuaiba during a wave of attacks that followed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The Justice and defense inquiries are ongoing and Kuwaiti authorities said the cause of the incident is under investigation.

Capt. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. His service record reported deployments to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay in 2021 and Poland in 2024. Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, joined the Reserve in 2006 and had deployed to Kuwait twice, in 2009 and 2019. Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, enlisted in the National Guard in 2005, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and served in Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, enlisted in the Reserve in 2023 and was posthumously promoted to sergeant, the Army Reserve said.

In a statement attributed to the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. Robert Harter said, "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." Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, added, "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."

U.S. military officials confirmed that initial situational reports from Central Command listed different casualty figures in the hours after the strikes, saying three service members had been killed and five were seriously wounded. Pentagon and Defense Department updates later put the U.S. toll at six killed. Defense officials declined to provide additional identifying details for the two service members whose names remain withheld until families are notified, consistent with military casualty-notification policy.

Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of continued risk, saying, "We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize losses." Kuwaiti authorities acknowledged the incident and said the cause is under investigation. Beyond those statements, officials have released no forensic findings identifying precisely how the unmanned aircraft penetrated the site or which Iranian units, if any, carried out the strike. The investigation and the broader regional response are expected to shape U.S. military posture and diplomatic efforts in the coming days.