As the conflict with Iran continued to intensify throughout the Middle East, the Pentagon confirmed the names of four service members killed in Kuwait on Sunday in a wave of early retaliatory attacks following U.S.-Israeli missile strikes.
The Army reservists were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based out of Des Moines. The four were among six troops killed in a drone attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, according to a Defense Department news release. The soldiers were:
- Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines.
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
- Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, the chief of Army Reserve, said the soldiers served “fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation.”
“Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” Harter said.
They were serving at a command center that had little overhead protection when a drone hit it Sunday, killing six and seriously wounding several others, officials familiar with the incident said.
The post, essentially a trailer, did not have any hardened protection above it to deflect or minimize explosive force, officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details. It was protected by concrete barriers, which can blunt explosions from mortar shells, car bombs and other weapons. The barriers do not shield personnel from drones or missiles, though — the main threats to U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Sgt. Declan J. Coady
Coady’s family told the Des Moines Register that they were notified of his death around 8 p.m. Sunday. His father, Andrew Coady, told the paper he last spoke to his son on Saturday and “he was telling us that he was safe.”
Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an information technology specialist, officials said. He was posthumously promoted from specialist.
On his LinkedIn page, Coady wrote that he had recently joined the Army Reserve.
“I have been able to pick up many new skills both in the technical side of things and people side of things,” he wrote. With his new training, he said, “I have also been able to meet new people from different walks of life and have learned even more how to interact with countless different kinds of people from all different backgrounds.”
Andrew Coady told the Register that his son was considering active-duty service following his deployment.
“That’s how much he loved it,” Coady’s father told the paper, adding: “He was not afraid of doing anything. He would always step up and help people. Declan was very good at what he did in the Army.”
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens
Tietjens’s mother Glenda, of Ord, Nebraska, had announced her son’s death in a Facebook post on Monday. She had earlier posted, “Can’t sleep, eyes hurts, heart hurts and is broken …”
Tietjens was from a military family — growing up as a “military brat” as his father, Bill, moved between postings, said a family member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of respect for Tietjens’s parents. Noah’s twin brother, Nicholas, and brother Will also served in the Army, the family member said.
Tietjens enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic, according to his career biography. He deployed to Kuwait twice before — once in 2009 and again in 2019.
Tietjens and his wife, Michelle, had a young child and lived in the Omaha suburbs, records show. A spokesman for Michelle referred questions to Tietjens’s unit, which did not immediately return calls for comment.
Capt. Cody A. Khork
Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 before he was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He previously served in Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Poland.
On social media, Khork was remembered as a loyal friend and kind community leader. Trae Miller wrote that Khork was always willing to help younger cadets in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“Even though I didn’t see him day to day, he was someone you remembered,” Miller posted on Facebook. “The way he carried himself, the way he treated people, it mattered. Those small moments stick with you longer than you realize.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) posted on X that he extended “the endless gratitude of our state and nation for which [Khork] made the ultimate sacrifice to protect.”
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor
Amor enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 before transferring to the Army Reserve in 2006. An automated logistics specialist, Amor previously deployed to Kuwait and Iraq.
She was days away from returning home to her husband and two children when she was killed, the Associated Press reported.
“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first — it hurts,” her husband, Joey Amor, told the AP. The couple has a teenage son and a fourth-grade daughter, according to the wire service.
“If you needed anything she would just take care of it for you,” Joey Amor said of his wife, according to the AP. “She’s helped a lot of people through a lot of dark times, and brought a lot of light to this world.”
The drone attack that killed the soldiers remains under investigation, according to the Defense Department.
The identities of two other soldiers killed in the attack whose remains were found later are expected to be released in coming days, after their families had been notified.
There are approximately 50,000 U.S. forces in the region, and President Donald Trump has cautioned that the death toll for American troops could rise as the U.S. and Israeli bombardments continue in coming days. Operations could take weeks, or even longer, Trump said.
At a news conference at the Pentagon on Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not rule out that ground forces ultimately could be sent into Iran to complete the administration’s goals.
In its initial statement, U.S. Central Command referred to the fallen troops as “killed in action” — which is familiar ground for the United States, which engaged in costly military action in the Middle East for decades after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In announcing what the Trump administration has called “Operation Epic Fury” overnight Saturday, Trump acknowledged troops’ lives could be at risk, saying, “That often happens in war.”
In a video statement released by the White House on Sunday, the president praised the troops who “made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation” and said that “sadly, there will likely be more before it ends.”
Alex Horton, Dan Lamothe, Tara Copp, Razzan Nakhlawi and Sammy Westfall contributed to this report.
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