The Pentagon has identified the names of one American Army Reserve soldier killed during a drone attack in Kuwait and another believed to be dead from the same strike.
The two names are the last of six troops to be identified, who were killed in the attack after President Trump launched his surprise war with Iran.
According to a press release published on Wednesday, Major Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, died during the strike on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Sunday.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, is “believed to” have been killed in the same strike, a separate statement noted.
A medical examiner still needs to positively identify Marzan, the press release adds. Both were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa.
Four other soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command were also killed in the attack, and had been previously identified as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20.
In Tuesday’s press release confirming their identities, the Pentagon said that the incident was under investigation.
Their deaths were the result of a retaliatory strike conducted in response to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Saturday after abandoning negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Early Saturday morning, Trump announced that the U.S. military had begun “major combat operations” in the region. It later emerged that the initial strikes on Iran had killed several high-profile political leaders, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran responded to the strikes with its own, targeting U.S. bases and embassies across the Middle East, including sites in Bahrain, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.
The six members of the 103rd Sustainment Command were the first and so far, only, U.S. casualties in the war. Preliminary figures suggest that over 1000 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday.
The confirmation of Marzan and O’Brien’s identities comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparked outrage with insensitive comments about their deaths.
In a Wednesday address, Hegseth said that the conflict is only just getting started and that the U.S. will take “all the time it needs to succeed.” He also warned that “more and larger waves were coming” with looming “death and destruction from the skies all day long.”
He then launched into a tirade against “fake news” for daring to highlight the deaths of U.S. service members in Trump’s war.
“We’ve taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” Hegseth said, seemingly referring to the deaths of the six soldiers serving in the 103rd Sustainment Command.
“I get it—the press only wants to make the president look bad,” Hegseth added.
Retired Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson, who has previously called for Hegseth to be fired, said on CNN that the secretary “must be smoking something” after watching his speech.
“What we saw with Secretary of Defense was a tough, macho guy talking about killing and shamelessly sucking up to the POTUS, but he really wasn’t giving any specifics on really what the long-term objectives are,” Anderson said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also criticized Hegseth’s comments and fixation on Trump’s image, writing on X, “6 U.S. service members are dead and Pete’s takeaway is that the real tragedy is bad press for Trump.”
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