By Melissa Gaffney
Updated on: March 3, 2026 / 10:37 PM EST / CBS News
The Pentagon has released the names of four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who were killed during the ongoing war with Iran. They were among six service members who died when an Iranian strike hit a tactical operations center in Kuwait.
The Defense Department identified them as:
– 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
The soldiers died Sunday in Port Shuaiba in an unmanned aircraft system attack, the Defense Department said. They were all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines.
“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 the U.S. Army Reserve, said in a news release.
Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, expressed sympathy for the families and teammates, calling the soldiers “the heart of America” and pledging that “we will remember their names, their service, and their sacrifice.”
Service histories released by the Army Reserve noted Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014; he deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay in 2021 and Poland in 2024. Amor enlisted in the National Guard in 2005, transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Tietjens enlisted in the Reserve in 2006 and had deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant, enlisted in the Reserve in 2023.
The names of the two other U.S. service members who were killed have been withheld pending notification of next of kin.
U.S. Central Command initially reported three service members killed in Kuwait on Sunday, then said Monday another had died of injuries. It later said remains of two previously unaccounted-for service members were recovered from a facility that was hit during Iran’s initial attacks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the deadly incident occurred when an incoming munition struck a tactical operations center in Kuwait; the Pentagon said the incident is under investigation.
As of Tuesday morning, the number of seriously wounded in the U.S.-Iran conflict, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, had decreased from 18 to 10 service members as they progressed through medical treatment, a U.S. official said.
In a family statement, the Khork family described Cody as “truly the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him.” They said he was “deeply patriotic” and had “lived with purpose, loved deeply, and served honorably.”
In a video message Sunday night, President Trump offered condolences to the families and warned there would likely be more American casualties, saying combat operations “will continue until all of our objectives are achieved.” “We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” he said.
Hegseth called the fallen service members “the absolute best of America” and urged that the remainder of the operation be prosecuted “in a manner that honors them.”
The U.S. and Israel launched a large military operation early Saturday in Iran, including strikes on Tehran sites. Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were reported killed in the initial strikes, and Iran’s military has since launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and other U.S.-allied nations in the region.
Eleanor Watson, Tucker Reals, Joe Walsh, Caroline Linton and Jordan Freiman contributed to this report.
