Names released for 6 soldiers killed by suspected Iranian drone strike in Kuwait

The identities of six Army Reserve soldiers killed in the first day of Operation Epic Fury have been released by the Department of War.

They include:

• Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
• Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California

The six died March 1, during a suspected drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, officials said.

“All (the) soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. The incident is under investigation,” the Department of War reported.

• Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 as a “Multiple Launch Rocket System/Fire Direction Specialist,” officials said. “He commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudia Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024,” officials said.
• Amor enlisted in the National Guard as an automated logistics specialist in 2005, then transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006, officials said. She was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
• Tietjens enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic, and he had two deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019.
• Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army Information Technology Specialist, and he was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant, officials said.
• O’Brien was commissioned in the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012. He deployed to Kuwait in 2019.

Background details on Marzan have not yet been released.

The U.S. operation was launched at 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 28, with a goal of “striking targets to dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat,” the Department of War said.

Targets have included Iran’s command and control centers, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Joint Headquarters, Aerospace Forces Headquarters, Ballistic Missile Sites, Iranian Navy Ships, Iranian Navy submarines, anti-ship missile site and military communication capabilities.

This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 5:10 AM.