Thousands of U.S. troops are currently deployed to U.S. Central Command, spread across numerous installations and dozens of ships throughout the region.

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Roughly 140 American service members have been wounded — eight severely — in the first 10 days of Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday.

“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to Military Times. “Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”

Since the United States and Israel began their joint offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least seven American service members. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday to witness the return of the first six soldiers killed in action. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance met the grieving family of a seventh soldier as the flag-draped transfer case arrived on U.S. soil.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pledged the U.S. attacks would continue, and warned that Tuesday would be “our most intense day of strikes inside Iran.”

“We’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force,” he told reporters in a press briefing Tuesday morning. “We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”

“Our will is endless,” the defense secretary added. “What I want the American people to understand is, this is not endless.”

At the outset of the U.S.-Israeli campaign, Trump projected the conflict could last “four to five weeks.” But on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reframed the timeline, saying the war will end when the president “determines the military objectives have been met.”

Leavitt told reporters the objectives in Iran are to: “Destroy their missiles and their ability to make them; destroy their navy; permanently deny them nuclear weapons forever; and, of course, weaken their evil proxies in the region.”

The Islamic Republic’s de facto leader has offered no indication that a surrender is imminent. Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued a veiled threat Tuesday that Tehran would hold Trump accountable for killing the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

“Watch out for yourself – lest you be eliminated,” Larijani wrote in a post on X.

Khamenei has been succeeded by his son Mojtaba, a selection that was seen as an act of defiance by Tehran, and one with which Trump expressed his displeasure.

As the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran stretches into its 11th day, American voters’ sentiments about the ongoing conflict are skewing negative, one poll found.

Over half of American voters oppose the recent U.S. military action against Iran, while a majority oppose sending ground troops to the country, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Monday. Despite President Donald Trump’s assertions that U.S. involvement will be wrapped up in a matter of weeks, many voters believe the conflict will continue for months or more.

“Voters are unenthusiastic about the air attack on Iran and there is overwhelming opposition to putting American troops on Iranian soil to fight a ground war,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said in the poll results.

The poll found that 53% of voters oppose the war, while 40% are in support. Those findings are split by political party, with Democrats and Independents largely opposing the war and Republicans supporting it.

A significant amount of voters — 74% — oppose sending ground troops into Iran, with only 20% in support of that action, the poll found. There’s a lack of support even among Republicans for sending ground troops; 52% of Republicans oppose the idea and 37% support it.

Pollsters surveyed a total of 1,002 self-identified Democrats, Republicans and Independents from March 6 to 8. They included a mix of men and women from across the country.

Trump calls war in Iran a ‘little excursion’

American voters are somewhat split on the killing of more than 40 Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The poll found 48% think the killings were justified, while 43% think they were not.

Trump has said that military action was necessary because Iran posed “grave threats” to America, claiming they would soon have missiles capable of reaching the U.S. Experts, however, have said they believe Iran is years away from developing a missile with that type of range.

The poll found that a many voters, 55%, did not believe Iran posed an imminent military threat against the country, and now, 77% of voters believe that it is likely there will be a terrorist attack on U.S. soil in retaliation from Iran.

Pollsters also asked about Trump’s presidential handling of the war and found that only 38% approve while 57% disapprove.

Trump has previously projected the war could last four or five weeks but said the U.S. has the ability to continue “far longer.”

When those surveyed were asked about how long they believe the war could last, 3% said days, 18% said weeks, 32% said months, 13% said about a year and 26% said longer than that, according to the poll.

“How long will it last? Not days, not weeks, but months, maybe longer. Perhaps compelled by memories of long wars, Americans see no early end to the enormous upheaval in the Middle East,” Malloy said in the poll results.

The Marine Corps plans to combine water survival training with underwater egress training, a change that will result in more demanding swim tests, Military Times has learned.

Under guidance posted in a Marine Administrative Message, or MARADMIN, on March 6, Marines will be required to train to the new standards beginning Oct. 1, 2026.

According to the guidance, the changes are intended “to increase unit readiness and enhance capabilities in maritime environments” across the fleet while also improving “individual Marine comfort level in the water,” according to the release.

In layman’s terms, the service is adopting a “building blocks” approach to training, Maj. Hector Infante, communications director at Marine Corps Training and Education Command, explained in an email.

“While basic water survival skills are introduced during recruit training, the new order places a strong emphasis on continuous training and qualification opportunities for Marines throughout their careers,” Infante said.

The push for training that results in competency in the water has been ongoing. As Military Times previously reported, the Training Command has been exploring ways to improve Marines’ swimming proficiency since 2022.

Under the updated guidance, Marines will qualify under five water survival levels: Basic, Novice, Competent, Proficient and Advanced.

“Basic,” however, is only a temporary qualification given to recruits who pass the swim test during boot camp. The test to meet minimal standards include jumping from a 10-foot tower into a pool, treading water for four minutes and swimming 25 meters while wearing gear.

After boot camp, Marines will be expected to qualify at the Novice level or higher, or receive an exemption waiver, according to the guidance. Those who fail to do so could face administrative counseling.

Infante said that at each qualification level, the amount of time Marines must tread water increases, and they are expected to demonstrate additional swimming techniques.

For example, “Basic and Novice levels require demonstrating one stroke, Competent requires two, Proficient requires three, and Advanced requires proficiency in all four (front crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke and backstroke),” he wrote.

“The goal is for every Marine to consistently improve their aquatic skills whenever possible,” Infante added.

The updated standards will also be incorporated into Marine performance evaluations through the Junior Enlisted Performance Evaluation System and the Performance Evaluation System, according to the guidance.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Tuesday “will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran: The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, intelligence more refined and better than ever.”

Shortly before the statement shared at Tuesday’s press briefing, he said “the last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest amount of missiles they have fired yet.”

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces hit more than 5,000 targets, and that their three objectives included destruction of Iranian ballistic missile and drone capability; hitting Iran’s navy to allow movement through the Strait of Hormuz; and hitting “deeper into Iran’s military and industrial base.”

The rhetoric was equally sharp from Tehran. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X that Iran was “definitely not looking for a ceasefire.”

“We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he said.

Another top Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, appeared to threaten U.S. President Donald Trump himself, writing on X that “Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”

Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.

Witnesses reported hearing several explosions in Tehran in the afternoon as Israel commenced a new wave of airstrikes.

Attacks aimed at pressuring the US

Along with firing missiles and drones at Israel and at American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for traded oil, sending oil prices soaring. The attacks appear aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end their strikes.

Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back but was still at around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started on Feb. 28.

Trump, who has previously said that the war could last for a month or longer, sought to downplay growing fears that it could take even longer, saying it was “going to be a short-term excursion.”

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the strikes on Iran would continue.

“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny, (but) ultimately it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel’s hospital and health system leaders. “There is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones.”

Since the war began, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials.

Seven U.S. service members have been killed.

NEW DELHI — The United States and Iran have offered sharply different accounts of the sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean last week, with Washington rejecting Tehran’s claim the vessel was unarmed and Iranian officials insisting it was operating in a noncombat role.

The United States Indo-Pacific Command on Sunday rejected Iran’s claim that the warship IRIS Dena was unarmed when it was sunk in a submarine attack in international waters off Sri Lanka on March 4. In a statement on X, INDOPACOM called Iran’s assertion that the vessel was unarmed “false.”

The response followed strong objections from Tehran, which has repeatedly characterized the warship as defenseless, saying it was returning home after taking part in a naval exercise.

An Indian navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said the Iranian vessel was not “entirely unarmed” and had taken part in drills alongside other countries’ warships.

Some experts have, however, suggested that visiting ships at such events typically do not carry a full combat load of live munitions unless scheduled for live-fire drills. They say even during the sea phase of exercises, ships generally carry only tightly-controlled ammunition limited to specific drills.

Rahul Bedi, an independent defense analyst based in India, said the vessel may have used some limited non-offensive ammunition during the naval exercises, but protocol requires “the participating platforms to be unarmed.”

“The precondition of participating in such a parade, or such a ceremony, is that it (the vessel) comes unarmed. That is the precondition of the Indian Navy and it’s a precondition of most navies when they hold such similar sort of fleet reviews,” Bedi said.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Friday that the warship, sunk by a U.S. torpedo, had not been carrying weapons and accused Washington of targeting a ceremonial vessel.

“That vessel was by invitation of our Indian friends, attending an international exercise. It was ceremonial. It was unloaded. It was unarmed,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

The IRIS Dena was sunk on March 4 in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka after being struck by a torpedo fired from a U.S. submarine, according to American and Iranian officials. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the IRIS Dena as a “prize ship” and said it “died a quiet death.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as “an atrocity at sea” and stressed that it had been “a guest of India’s Navy.”

Disputes over whether the vessel was armed have intensified tensions over the incident, which occurred as it was returning from multinational naval exercises in India, and raised questions about whether it was operating in a noncombat role when it was attacked.

India’s defense ministry said in a statement after the exercises that “live firings as part of surface gun shoots, as well as anti-air firings, were also undertaken” by participating vessels.

The warship’s sinking highlighted how the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is spreading beyond the Middle East.

Two other Iranian vessels — the IRIS Bushehr and IRIS Lavan — are docked in Sri Lanka and India after seeking assistance from the two countries.

Associated Press writer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, contributed to this report.

The U.S. Coast Guard set a new record for the largest drug seizure made at sea in 18 years, which also turned out to be the largest bust ever in the history of its tactical helicopter unit.

The California-based Coast Guard cutter Munro announced the news after returning Sunday from a 119-day deployment that began in November of last year.

Sailing in the Eastern Pacific, the Munro spotted a go-fast smuggling boat and took up what became an intense pursuit.

A Scan Eagle surveillance drone participated in the pursuit alongside an MH-65 helicopter of the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron. The Scan Eagle, which has a low-stealth profile and a relatively small size, operates autonomously and with extreme endurance.

After firing warning shots, the helicopter disabled the vessel’s engine with gunfire, ending the pursuit. Six suspected drug smugglers were arrested.

A record haul of 22,052 pounds of cocaine was recovered from the vessel, with an estimated street value of over $250 million.

“The service, our nation and our families can be extremely proud of Munro,” Capt. Jim O’Mara, the cutter’s commanding officer, said in a statement.

“This crew rose to every new challenge thrown at them with professionalism and persistence, and they achieved historic results. This was a one-of-a-kind deployment for us, but it is also just one part of a much broader campaign and U.S. national strategy.”

O’Mara said the long deployment had been hard on crew members’ families, but he expressed gratitude for the support from home and pride in the crew’s unprecedented accomplishments.

“Our families had to adapt to each new twist, just like all military families do across the Armed Forces. It is tough on them,” he said. “But when they hold strong at home that keeps us motivated and focused on our mission.”

Multiple U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers have arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, as American forces intensify strike operations against Iran under Operation Epic Fury.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed Saturday that U.S. forces had begun using the British base for “specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region.”

The BBC reported at least three B-1B Lancers at the base, with the first aircraft arriving the evening of March 6 and two more on March 7.

Aviation tracking outlet The Aviationist reported four arrivals in the initial deployment, followed by a second flight bringing the total to eight B-1Bs in Europe.

According to The Aviationist, three of those aircraft diverted to Ramstein Air Base in Germany after low visibility prevented landing at Fairford following a mission over Iran; five are currently at Fairford.

The B-1B, originally built by Rockwell and now supported by Boeing, is operated by Air Force Global Strike Command and is a supersonic conventional strike aircraft capable of carrying up to 24 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles internally.

B-1Bs have already played a significant role in the war. According to reports from early briefings, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said B-1 and B-2 bombers had carried out pinpoint strikes on missile sites deep inside Iran during the operation’s first 72 hours.

In a March 2 post on X, CENTCOM said the bombers struck deep inside the country “to degrade Iranian ballistic missile capabilities.” At a March 5 press briefing at CENTCOM headquarters, Cooper said that America’s bomber force had struck nearly 200 targets deep inside Iran, including around Tehran, in the preceding 72 hours.

The forward deployment comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes on Iran are “about to surge dramatically.”

On March 4, Hegseth said that the U.S. had gained control of Iranian airspace and was shifting from advanced stand-off weapons to gravity bombs. Basing bombers at Fairford significantly shortens turnaround times compared to flying round-trip missions from the continental United States.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized U.S. use of British bases on March 1 for what he described as a “specific and limited defensive purpose” of destroying Iran’s missiles “at source,” following initial resistance to a request from President Trump. RAF Fairford is the U.S. Air Force’s only dedicated forward operating location for heavy bombers in Europe.

Three B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived at Fairford on March 9, the BBC reported, joining the B-1Bs already at the base.

U.S. Air Force Europe declined to confirm or deny the deployments.

A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding.

The National Intelligence Council’s assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger, prolonged military campaign would be likely to result in a new government taking over in Iran, even if the current leadership was killed, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified report.

The determination undercuts the administration’s assertion that it can complete its objectives in Iran relatively quickly, perhaps in a matter of weeks. The administration has asserted that it was not seeking regime change in Iran, even as President Donald Trump considers whom he would like to see lead the country.

The intelligence assessment concluded that no one powerful or unified opposition coalition was poised to take over in Iran if the leadership was killed, according to the people familiar with the report. It determined that Iran’s establishment would attempt to preserve continuity of power if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, the people said.

In line with the assessment’s findings, Iran’s leading clerics on Sunday chose a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to succeed his father, who was killed in the war’s opening salvo. The son is believed to hold views that are even more hardline than his father, and his selection is a strong sign of resistance from Iran’s leadership and an indication the government won’t step aside quickly.

The details of the assessment were reported earlier by The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Trump and other top administration leaders have given different justifications for the strikes that began on Feb. 28, saying they were necessary to set back Iran’s nuclear weapons program or to preempt an Iranian ballistic missile attack. While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the war is not aimed at regime change, Trump has said it’s something he wants to see.

A message seeking comment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was not immediately returned Monday. Director Tulsi Gabbard fired the council’s acting chairperson last year after the release of a declassified NIC memo that contradicted statements the Trump administration has used to justify deporting Venezuelan immigrants.

Trump, dating back to his first term, has been deeply skeptical of the U.S. intelligence community and has frequently dismissed its findings as politically motivated or part of a “deep state” effort to undermine his presidency.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth contends that American troops are not in danger across the Middle East – even as the Pentagon announced on Sunday that a seventh U.S. service member had been killed in the war against Iran.

The latest casualty, Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, died of wounds sustained in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, according to the Department of Defense. His death came one day after President Donald Trump and other senior officials observed the solemn return of six flag-draped cases to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

With the conflict now in its second week, U.S. officials have said that Russia is covertly providing intelligence to Iran that could help the Islamic Republic target American personnel, warships and aircraft in the region.

Hegseth, in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday, dismissed the idea that U.S. forces are at risk amid the coordination between two of America’s adversaries. “No one is putting us in danger,” he said. “We’re putting their guys in danger.”

“We’re tracking everything. Our commanders are aware of everything,” Hegseth continued. “The only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians who think they are going to live.”

Russia provided Iran with information that can help Tehran strike US military, sources say

The alignment between Moscow and Tehran was underscored Monday when Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on his elevation.

Khamenei is the son of Ali Khamenei, who served as supreme leader from 1989 until he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the current conflict.

“I want to confirm our unwavering support for Tehran and solidarity with our Iranian friends,” Putin said in a statement. “I am confident that you will continue your father’s work with honor.”

Tehran’s choice signals a message of defiance aimed at Washington. At 56, Khamenei takes the helm of a regime steeped in the hard-line theocratic rule his father exercised for decades. Trump, who has previously called Khamenei an “unacceptable” option to lead Iran, said on Sunday that he is “not happy” with the appointment.

Hegseth, when asked about the status of the war, told “60 Minutes” the U.S. is “very much on track, on plan.” But he declined to rule out further escalation, including the possibility of deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran.

The defense secretary said both he and Trump are cognizant that “you don’t tell the enemy, you don’t tell the press, you don’t tell anybody what your limits would be on an operation.”

He added that the U.S. is “willing to go as far as we need to in order to be successful.”

For over 100 years, Arlington National Cemetery has been the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but it hasn’t always been guarded — or revered.

Following the soldier’s 1921 internment, the burial site was unguarded and often treated as a tourist attraction by visitors.

That is, until 1925, when “concern over the lack of respect led Army Maj. Gen. Fox Conner, the Army’s deputy chief of staff, to order an armed military guard on March 24, 1926,” according to the Department of Defense.

The first sentinel was posted the very next morning, with units from the 16th Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Calvary Regiment beginning what would become an unbroken vigil. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as “The Old Guard,” was designated as the Army’s official ceremonial unit on April 6, 1948.

World War I

The English and French had honored and laid to rest their unknown soldiers in 1920 — in Westminster Abbey and at the Arc de Triomphe, respectively. Then, in October 1921, it was the United States’ turn.

The task of selecting a body to represent the thousands of unknown dead from the Great War was daunting. The United States still had not identified 1,237 dead soldiers, and, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, extraordinary care had to be taken to select a body that would not be identified later.

Four bodies were exhumed from the U.S. cemeteries of Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Somme and St. Mihiel. Arriving at the city hall of Chalons-sur-Marne, France, on Oct. 23, French and American soldiers then rearranged the caskets to further obfuscate their origins.

The following day, Army Sgt. Edward Younger, an enlisted man, walked slowly toward the four flag-draped caskets. He had been given the honor of choosing the United States’ Unknown Soldier.

According to Arlington National Cemetery, Younger recalled that he thought of himself and his comrades as just “good, average soldiers” and believed that “none of the men had been decorated, nor had performed signal feats.” Speaking to a Washington Post reporter in 1930, he recalled that the process seemed arbitrary — simply being told, ‘I guess you’re the one, Younger. … You select the Unknown.’”

Younger approached the caskets, carrying white roses in his hand given to him by a former member of the Chalons City Council who had lost two sons in the war.

Younger circled the caskets three times, awed by the honor and responsibility he was tasked with. He later recalled in a first-person account:

“I began a slow march around the caskets. Which should it be? Thoughts poured like torrents through my mind. Maybe these buddies had once been my pals. Perhaps one of them had fought with me, had befriended me, had possibly shielded me from a bullet that might have put me in his place. Who would even know?”

Transported aboard a special funeral train, the Unknown Soldier was carried to Paris, and then on to the port town of Le Havre the following day. Marine Capt. Graves Erskine and his 38 hand-picked Marines readied the steel gray casket for its sea voyage by placing it in a rough wooden box wrapped in waterproof canvas.

The casket, too large to be carried through the hatch of the USS Olympia and to relative safety below, had to be lashed to the bow of the ship.

However, the ship almost didn’t make it. Two storms were roiling the ocean prior to the Olympia’s departure causing the Olympia to repeatedly roll to the point of capsizing.

Whether divine intervention or a fleeting weather pattern, the Olympia and its crew battled through, arriving on time and to much fanfare as the ship and its crew made its way up the Potomac River.

Ultimately laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony attended by President Warren Harding, Vice President Calvin Coolidge, senior government representatives, Medal of Honor recipients and other military groups, the Unknown Soldier was finally home.

World War II and Korean War unknowns

Following the end of the Second World War, Congress authorized that two “unknown” candidates — one from the Pacific and one from the Western theater — be included in the selection, with the original date set for interment on Memorial Day, May 30, 1951.

However, with the outbreak of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman postponed the internment.

According to the Society of the Honor Guard, by 1958, Congress directed the selection of a Korean War Unknown Soldier to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and be buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside the World War II Unknown Soldier.

Col. Glenn T. Eagleston, a combat pilot in both WWII and the Korean War, was designated to select the unknown candidate to represent the Pacific Theater, while U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Edward Joseph O’Neil, was designated to make the selection of the European Theater unknown candidate.

Hospital Corpsman First Class William R. Charette, the U.S. Navy’s only active-duty recipient of the Medal of Honor, ultimately made the final selection of the WWII unknown.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded the Medal of Honor to both.

Vietnam War controversy

A decade following the Vietnam War, there were calls from the American public to designate another unknown.

Known only as X-26, the remains of an American service member was being held in the U.S. Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Found near a stream in An Loc in 1972, X-26 had remained unidentified for over a decade when the remains were selected to represent the nation’s missing from that war and buried at Arlington on Memorial Day, 1984.

During the ceremony, President Ronald Reagan awarded the Medal of Honor to the unknown.

However, in 1994, in the face of mounting evidence that their son, Capt. Michael J. Blassie, was the Vietnam War unknown, the family of the Air Force pilot submitted a formal request to the DOD to exhume X-26’s body and submit it for DNA testing.

Of the exhumation, then-Secretary of Defense William Cohen remarked that, “we disturb this hallowed ground with profound reluctance. And we take this step only because of our abiding commitment to account for every warrior who fought and died to preserve the freedoms that we cherish.”

The remains were taken to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the test result confirmed on June 28, 1998, that the Unknown Soldier was indeed Blassie.

Several weeks later, an MC-130E aircraft from his former unit, the 8th Special Operations Squadron, flew his remains back to his home state of Missouri. He was then re-interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis County, Missouri, according to the Society of the Honor Guard.

The marble crypt that once honored him was ultimately changed to read: Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958–1975.

The Defense Department has identified a seventh service member to be killed in action amid ongoing combat operations against Iran.

Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky, succumbed to his wounds on March 8, the Pentagon announced, after being wounded during a March 1 enemy attack at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

Pennington was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado, the release added.

“Sgt. Pennington was a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty,” Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, said in the release. “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, friends and fellow soldiers. We remain dedicated to providing comfort and support at this time and will forever honor his legacy and ultimate sacrifice for our nation.”

Seventh US service member killed in action during Operation Epic Fury

Pennington enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2017 as a unit supply specialist, according to the release. He had been assigned to the 1st Space Battalion since June 2025.

His awards include the Army Commendation Medal (3), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal (2), National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the release added. The incident is under investigation.

Seven service members have been killed in action during Operation Epic Fury, which began on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian leaders.

The Pentagon also announced Sunday that an Army National Guard officer who also served as a New York City policeman died on March 6 following a non-combat incident.

Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of Queens, New York, passed away at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, according to a release.

Iran has unleashed retaliatory strikes at U.S. military installations and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East amid ongoing bombardment by U.S. and Israeli forces.

The first six soldiers were killed when an Iranian one-way attack drone evaded U.S. air defenses on March 1 and struck a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait.

The bodies of the six fallen soldiers returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday as President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials attended the dignified transfer of the troops’ remains.

The slain soldiers were identified as Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.

CENTCOM announced Monday that 18 troops had been wounded so far.

The Pentagon announced Sunday that an Army National Guard officer who also served as a New York City policeman died on March 6 following a non-combat incident.

Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of Queens, New York, passed away at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, according to a Defense Department release.

Davius was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 42nd Infantry Division out of Troy, New York, the release added.

The incident is currently under investigation.

In a post the day prior to the Pentagon’s announcement, the New York City Police Department stated Davius died following a “medical episode while deployed to Kuwait.”

Davius was deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield, according to the Pentagon, a years-long U.S. Central Command-led mission to deter potential adversaries throughout the region. The NYPD post on Saturday, meanwhile, said Davius was supporting Operation Epic Fury at the time of his death.

“In 2014, he began his service with the NYPD where he was assigned to the 79th Precinct,” the police department release said. “Today, and always, we keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. May we never forget Officer Davius’ sacrifice and may his memory be a blessing.”

U.S. Central Command on Sunday also announced that a service member who had been seriously injured on March 1 during an Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia succumbed to their wounds Saturday.

The individual, who has yet to be identified, is the seventh service member to be killed in action amid ongoing combat operations against the Islamic Republic.

The bodies of the other six soldiers, who were killed on March 1 by an Iranian drone attack on Port Shuabia, Kuwait, returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials attended the dignified transfer.

The six soldiers have been identified as Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.

An additional 18 troops have been wounded during Operation Epic Fury, according to CENTCOM.

A service member seriously wounded during an attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1 has died, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday.

“Last night, a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

The service member’s identity was not released and will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin is notified, per Defense Department policy.

Seven service members have been killed in action so far during Operation Epic Fury, which began on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian leaders.

Iran has unleashed retaliatory strikes at U.S. military installations and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East amid ongoing bombardment by U.S. and Israeli forces.

Six dead, 18 service members injured in Iran operation

Six soldiers were killed when an Iranian one-way attack drone evaded U.S. air defenses on March 1 and struck a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait.

The bodies of the six fallen soldiers returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday as President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials attended the dignified transfer of the troops’ remains.

The slain soldiers were identified as Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.

CENTCOM announced Monday that 18 troops had been wounded so far.

The U.S. and Israel have killed 940 people in Iran, according to NBC News, citing Iranian state media.

President Donald Trump, wearing a white USA baseball hat, rendered six salutes at Dover Air Force base on Saturday as six flag-draped cases of the fallen were returned to U.S. soil – the first American casualties of Operation Epic Fury.

First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and other top officials assembled alongside the president as the troops’ remains were solemnly transferred from the C-17 transport plane to a waiting vehicle.

The service members were killed when an Iranian drone evaded American air defenses and struck a makeshift operations center in Port Shuabia, Kuwait. The attack was among the opening salvos of the war between a U.S.-Israel alliance and the Islamic Republic.

The slain soldiers were identified as Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.

Trump, speaking from his golf resort in Miami before the dignified transfer, vowed to keep American deaths in the campaign “at a minimum” — though he has previously acknowledged that more losses may be inevitable.

“Very sad situation to greet the families of the heroes coming home from Iran. Coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home,” he said, adding, “They are great heroes in our country.”

More than 6,000 miles away from Dover, American and Israeli forces continued their bombardment on Iran. Tehran has launched a series of retaliatory strikes directed at Israel and Gulf nations with U.S. military bases.

Trump on Saturday warned that the Islamic Regime would soon be “hit very hard,” signaling an expansion of the aerial campaign to include new “areas and groups of people.” The end goal, he says, is complete destruction.

The White House rebuffed reports that Trump is leaning toward a ground invasion of Iran, but emphasized that no military option has been ruled out.

“President Trump always, wisely keeps all options open,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Military Times. “But anyone trying to insinuate he is in favor of one option or another proves they have no real seat at the table.”

Iran’s foreign minister affirmed that the country is prepared to confront American forces should the U.S. expand its campaign by mounting a ground invasion.

“We are waiting for them,” Abbas Araghchi said. “Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”

At this stage, Iranian ground forces do not stand a chance against the Americans, argued Sina Azodi, the director of Middle East Studies at George Washington University. But he noted that in the long-term, a full-scale ground invasion might work to Iran’s benefit.

“[The regime] thinks if they can impose more casualties on the United States and public opinion changes, then they will be able to force the U.S. to end the war sooner than later.”

“Iran is not Iraq,” he explained. “It is larger, it has a strategic depth, and it would take a lot more resources for the United States to invade.”

Trump, as he returned to Florida late Saturday afternoon, declined to commit on whether he was considering putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.

“I don’t think it’s an appropriate question,” the president told reporters on board Air Force One.

He added, however, that there “possibly” could be such a presence.

“If we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated that they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level.”

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — President Donald Trump on Saturday is joining grieving families at Dover Air Force Base at the dignified transfer for the six U.S. soldiers killed in the war in the Middle East.

The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in action, is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

Trump, speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami before his trip to Delaware, said the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.” He said it was “a very sad situation” and he pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum.” Accompanying him for the ceremony was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who wrote in a social media post Friday of “an unbreakable spirit to honor their memory and the resolve they embodied.”

Those killed in action were Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.

The six members of the Army Reserve, who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait, were all from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies. They died just one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran.

“These soldiers engaged in the most noble mission: protecting their fellow Americans and keeping our homeland secure,” Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran, said after the six were identified. “Our nation owes them an incredible debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”

During the ritual, transfer cases draped with the American flag and holding the remains of the fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to an awaiting vehicle to take them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Amor’s husband, Joey Amor, said earlier this week that she had been scheduled to return home to him and their two children within days.

“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,” Joey Amor said.

O’Brien had served in the Army Reserve for nearly 15 years, according to his LinkedIn account, and his aunt said in a post on Facebook that O’Brien “was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid you’d ever know. He is so missed already.”

Marzan’s sister described him in a Facebook post as a “strong leader” and loving husband, father and brother.

“My baby brother, you are loved and I will hold onto all our memories and cherish them always in my heart,” Elizabeth Marzan wrote.

Coady was among the youngest people in his class, trained to troubleshoot military computer systems, but he impressed his instructors, his father, Andrew Coady, told The Associated Press.

“He trained hard, he worked hard, his physical fitness was important to him. He loved being a soldier,” Coady said. “He was also one of the most kindest people you would ever meet, and he would do anything and everything for anyone.”

Khork’s family described him as “the life of the party” who was known for his “infectious spirit” and “generous heart” and who had wanted to serve in the military since childhood.

“That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” according to a statement from his mother, Donna Burhans, his father, James Khork, and his stepmother, Stacey Khork.

Tietjens, who came from a military family, previously served alongside his father in Kuwait. When he returned home in February 2010, he reunited with his overjoyed wife in a local church’s gym.

Tietjens’ cousin Kaylyn Golike asked for prayers, especially for Tietjens’ 12-year-old son, wife and parents, as they navigate “unimaginable loss.”

Trump most recently traveled to Dover in December to honor two Iowa National Guard members and a U.S. civilian interpreter who were killed in an ambush attack in the Syrian desert. He attended dignified transfers several times during his first term, including for a Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.

Kim reported from Washington.

Trump administration officials conceded during a private briefing on Capitol Hill this week that Iran’s Shahed-136 drone is proving more disruptive on the battlefield than the Pentagon had anticipated, two people familiar with the matter told Military Times.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine led the group of senior military leaders who warned lawmakers that gaps in counter-drone technology could leave U.S. forces and assets increasingly vulnerable.

“They were ill-prepared,” one person inside the briefing said, referring to U.S. defense plans in the Middle East.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched thousands of one-way drones toward U.S. military bases and diplomatic sites across the region since the start of the war, according to the Department of Defense. While American forces and their allies have thwarted most of the onslaught – largely with the Patriot missile system – some projectiles have still managed to reach their targets.

‘Race of attrition’: US military’s finite interceptor stockpile is being tested

One drone that penetrated air defenses at a U.S. installation in Kuwait on Sunday killed at least six American service members and wounded several others. The Iranian drone barrage has also expanded to 12 other countries in the region, CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said, adding that on Thursday the Islamic Republic fired seven attack drones at civilian residential neighborhoods in Bahrain.

The Shahed-136 is a triangle-shaped munition approximately 11 feet long. It carries an explosive warhead in its nose that detonates on impact. The drones can be assembled from relatively simple components and volleyed from the back of a truck, allowing operators to conceal and disperse launch sites. Shaheds cost between $20,000 and $50,000 apiece – a fraction of the price of the American missiles needed to shoot them down.

“Iran knows it can’t match the U.S. or Gulf states plane for plane or missile for missile, but it can change the economics of the conflict,” Patrycja Bazylczyk, an associate director with the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., said in an interview with Military Times. “Drones let Iran punch above its weight, keep its adversaries off balance, and project power across the region at minimal cost.”

“We can’t just play whack-a-mole in the sky,” Bazylczyk continued. “Shooting drones down one by one is the most expensive way to fight the cheapest threat. We have to go after the roots – the launch sites, the production lines, and the storage depots.”

The Pentagon has surged aircraft carriers and fighter jets to the region – its largest agglomeration of air and naval power in the Middle East in decades – but intercepting swarms of low-cost drones is rapidly draining U.S. missile stockpiles.

The U.S. has turned to Ukraine for assistance in countering the drones, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday. Drone warfare has become a fixture during the four-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin began deploying the Iranian-designed drone in 2022 and has since launched thousands against Ukraine. Engineers in Kyiv have developed a range of anti-drone laser systems, some of which cost as little as $1,000.

“We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against ‘shaheds’ in the Middle East region,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security.”

In a statement to Military Times, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly insisted, “The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed.”

“Their ballistic missile retaliation is decreasing every day, their navy is being wiped out, their production capacity is being demolished, and proxies are hardly putting up a fight,” Kelly claimed.

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer died Thursday from injuries he suffered while responding to a distressed mariner aboard a large vessel offshore of Washington state.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Jaggers was deployed to the vessel as part of a helicopter medical evaluation team, according to a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Friday Instagram post.

Jaggers was posthumously granted one of the nation’s highest awards for aerial flight.

“Our brother put his life on the line for someone he had never met, as Coast Guard aircrews and rescue swimmers have done thousands of times before, answering the call so that he and his crew could save a stranger’s life,” USCG Rescue Swimmers said in the Instagram post.

“Unfortunately, Tyler lost his in the process. He gave his life in the purest act of service: trying to save another,” the post continued.

On Feb. 27, Jaggers, who was based at the Astoria Air Station in Oregon, responded to a medical emergency aboard the commercial motor vessel Momi Arrow, roughly 120 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington, as part of a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, according to a Coast Guard release.

During the rescue of a distressed mariner, he suffered critical injuries, the release says. The Coast Guard did not provide information about the mariner, nor did it describe Jaggers’ injuries.

Jaggers was transported to Victoria General Hospital in British Columbia, Canada, for initial treatment, the release states. At that hospital, it was determined that he would not survive, the Instagram post said.

Jaggers was put on life support, and the Coast Guard provided aircraft to transport him back to the U.S., according to a Tuesday statement on the Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmers Association’s website.

He was subsequently transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, the release reads.

Jaggers joined the Coast Guard in January 2022 and served at Air Station Astoria since April 2024, according to the release.

He was meritoriously advanced to petty officer second class in a ceremony attended by his family and fellow Air Station Astoria crew members, the release says, and he was awarded posthumously with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

“He demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of danger, upholding the highest standards of courage and excellence for Coast Guard operations,” Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday said in a statement.

“We honor his selfless actions and unwavering devotion to our highest calling: to save others,” Lunday continued.

A Distinguished Flying Cross, authorized by Congress in 1926, is one of the country’s highest awards for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of his injuries during the rescue, the release states.

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.

The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.

Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran a week ago. Russia is in the rare club of countries that maintains friendly relations with Tehran, which has faced years of isolation over its nuclear program and its support of proxy groups that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

The White House downplayed reports that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran about U.S. targets in the region. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday told reporters that “it clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them.”

Leavitt declined to say if President Donald Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the reported intelligence sharing or whether he believed Russia should face repercussions, saying she would let the president speak to that himself.

Asked whether Russia would go beyond political support and offer military assistance to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there has been no such request from Tehran.

“We are in dialogue with the Iranian side, with representatives of the Iranian leadership, and will certainly continue this dialogue,” he said Friday.

Pushed on whether Moscow has provided any military or intelligence assistance to Tehran since the Iran war’s start, he refrained from comment.

Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilize in its four-year war Ukraine.

The Biden administration declassified intelligence findings that showed Iran supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.

The former U.S. administration also accused Iran of transferring short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Details about the U.S. intelligence were first reported by the Washington Post.

Asked whether the revelation had shaken Trump’s faith in Putin’s ability to cut any peace deal in the Russia-Ukraine war, Leavitt said, “I think the president would say that peace is still an achievable objective with respect to the Russia-Ukraine war.”

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday escalated discourse surrounding the Iran war, saying the U.S. would be abandoning talks of a deal unless the country capitulates entirely.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE” should the Islamic Republic decide to put down its arms.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” the president wrote. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. ... ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’”

Trump’s comments came less than 24 hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper provided combat updates during a press briefing at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Discussing the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, Hegseth asserted that U.S. combat power continues to converge upon the region as Iran’s capabilities decline.

“When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently,” Hegseth said.

With the goal of dismantling Iran’s navy, missile capabilities and nuclear program, U.S. forces over the course of the week-long war have struck approximately 2,000 targets, Cooper previously stated.

In the 72 hours prior to Thursday’s briefing, American bombers hit nearly 200 targets and dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrative bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers, the CENTCOM commander said.

The U.S. has also eliminated 30 Iranian navy ships, Cooper added, including one off the coast of Sri Lanka — in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility — that was the result of the first U.S. Navy submarine torpedo kill since World War II.

Iran’s “equivalent of space command” has also been hit, Cooper noted.

Now one week into the conflict, actions have resulted in Iran’s military offenses slowing considerably, the admiral said, with the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile attacks decreasing by 90% since the first day of the war and drone attacks diminishing by 83%.

“We’re not just hitting what they have,” Cooper said. “We’re destroying their ability to rebuild.”

Questions remain, meanwhile, regarding munitions stockpiles and how exactly Washington will accomplish its objectives.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that over 800 Patriot interceptor missiles had been used over the first three days of the Iran war, more than what Ukraine has used in four years since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The U.S. and other allies have reportedly approached Kyiv with requests for expertise, including from personnel, on more cost-friendly measures to combat Iran’s cheaply-made Shahed drones, which cost an average of $35,000 each.

Contrast that sum with an estimated $4 million price tag of a U.S.-made PAC-3 interceptor, and the cost exchange is 114-1 in favor of Iran.

Ukraine, however, has been increasingly experiencing success knocking Shaheds out of the sky with systems that cost as little as a used car.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is slated to host a meeting Friday with executives from Lockheed Martin, RTX, L3Harris and other defense firms to discuss surging missile systems production.

Amid this backdrop, Hegseth on Thursday asserted that the U.S. military’s munitions stockpile is not only in no danger of dwindling, but said the amount of U.S. firepower surrounding Iran is about to “surge dramatically.”

“We’ve only just begun to fight, and fight decisively,” he said.

Military Times reporter Riley Ceder contributed to this report.

The U.S. military’s increased use of missile interceptors during the war with Iran poses long-term strategic risks to integral defense capabilities if fighting spills into a long term conflict, experts caution.

Military Times spoke with several national security specialists, defense analysts and foreign policy pundits who warned that the U.S. military’s finite interceptor stockpile could be strained and potentially exhausted if the ever-changing projected timeline of Operation Epic Fury depletes a resource that cannot be replenished at the scale and pace of war.

“You can’t replace those kinds of missiles overnight,” said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. “It would take years.”

The U.S. currently employs several systems designed to destroy incoming missiles and drones, including the Patriot missile defense system, Aegis Combat System (SM-3/SM-6) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile systems.

As of December 2025, the Missile Defense Agency’s arsenal of SM-3s was 414 and the number of THAAD interceptors was 534, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Conversely, the Pentagon was receiving nearly 270 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement per year since 2015.

That number has begun to climb, meanwhile, with Lockheed Martin in January agreeing to a seven-year deal with the U.S. government to produce approximately 2,000 PAC-3 missiles per year.

“Lockheed Martin is well-positioned to fulfill this agreement, having recently increased PAC-3 MSE production by more than 60% over the past two years,” the company announced in January. “In 2025, Lockheed Martin delivered more than 600 PAC-3 MSEs, a 20% increase from the previous year.”

But SM-3s and THAADS, known as ballistic missile defense unique interceptors, are the most adept at air-defense against incoming munitions, according to CSIS. As a result, they cost more and take longer to manufacture.

Though the exact number of interceptors used by the U.S. military during the first six days of Operation Epic Fury has not been released by the Defense Department, Grieco said it was likely not an insignificant amount, stressing that the resource was limited.

The U.S. likely used between 100 and 150 THAAD interceptors and 80 SM-3s in support of Israel during its Twelve-Day War with Iran and an unknown number of Patriot interceptors in Qatar to defend Al Udeid Air Base from Iranian attacks, according to CSIS.

More than 150 THAAD interceptors would equate to roughly 30% of the THAAD stockpile, which is “concerning,” CSIS said.

If the U.S. used interceptors during the current Iran war at the same rate it did during the Twelve-Day War, it would use half of its entire interceptor stockpile in four to five weeks, according to Grieco.

Israeli officials assessed that Iran possessed 1,500 missiles and 200 launchers at the end of that war, according to Iran Watch, a website published by The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control that tracks Iran’s missile capabilities.

Their capabilities grew in the months that followed, with Iran reportedly possessing roughly 2,500 projectiles as of March 1.

But if the U.S. does dip that far into their interceptor stockpile, it would likely require interceptors from other theaters to be moved to CENTCOM, stripping U.S. military assets bare in those other areas of operations.

If the Iran war bled into multiple months and the U.S. interceptor usage rate was similar to that of the 12-day war, the U.S. could hypothetically deplete its entire interceptor stockpile, Grieco said.

Vance insists Trump won’t ‘allow’ a long Iran war

Before that would even happen, however, U.S. military forces would have to transition away from attempting to intercept everything.

Resources stretched thin

Six U.S. service members died Sunday when their makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait was struck by a suicide drone.

The missed opportunity for air-defense was the result of interceptor resources being stressed, said Daniel Shapiro, a fellow at the Atlantic Council who served in the Obama administration as the U.S. ambassador to Israel for six years.

“If there was nothing deployed, that obviously contributed because what resources we had, had to be deployed elsewhere,” Shapiro said. “If it was deployed, it was unsuccessful.”

In addition to the PAC-3 production contract, the Defense Department reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin in January to quadruple the yearly production of THAAD interceptors from 96 to 400.

But this isn’t something that will happen instantaneously. The PAC-3 agreement, for instance, is slated to ramp up over a span of seven years.

At this time, the U.S. military cannot immediately increase the number of interceptors by a vast margin.

“The Department of Defense is really good, but magic is still not one of its capabilities,” Grieco said.

The Trump administration is scrambling to replenish munitions resources and will host a meeting Friday with Lockheed Martin, RTX, L3Harris and other defense firm executives to discuss an uptick in missile systems production to replenish munitions used in the Iran war.

Stress on resources could also factor into the timeline for the conflict.

A dwindling amount of interceptors may have led to the end of the Twelve-Day War, according to Shapiro. So many interceptors were used during that time that the U.S. and Israel were approaching interceptor inventory strain, he noted.

“My understanding was that had the conflict continued for another few days or another week or so, it could have become critical,” Shapiro said.

The volume of ballistic missiles Iran has fired from the first day of Operation Epic Fury has decreased by 90%, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said during a media briefing at MacDill Air Force Base Thursday. Iranian drone attacks had also decreased by 83% since day one, he added.

The drop in Iran’s rate of firing projectiles possibly means that the U.S. offensive against Iranian missile capabilities and missile storage facilities is working. At this time, however, that remains unclear.

Dr. Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, said during an Atlantic Council Thursday roundtable that the calculus regarding Iran was unknown.

“Certainly on day six, it looks like its capability to launch missiles is maybe reduced, but it could also be deliberate,” Vakil said. “Iran is prepared for a longer war than I think the U.S. administration clearly calculated for.”

Iran could either be conserving missiles to distract with multiple attacks in different domains or preparing for a military campaign that will come in waves, she said, or both.

Who can outlast?

The question is whether Iran can continue its barrage of ballistic missiles and drones and outlast the interceptor stockpile the U.S. has.

The Pentagon continues to provide assurances that Iran is not capable of this feat.

“We’ve got no shortage of munitions,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at MacDill Air Force Base Thursday.

Cooper said U.S. combat power continues to escalate while Iran’s is in decline.

And Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who spoke at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, addressed concerns regarding specific U.S. munitions shortages.

Senate Republicans vote down legislation to halt Iran war

“We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense,” Caine said. “But I want to tell you, teammates, as a matter of practice, I don’t want to be talking about quantities.”

Despite the confidence military officials have projected, Hegseth and Caine reportedly admitted during a briefing with lawmakers Tuesday that Iran’s Shahed drones presented a problem for interceptors because they fly at a low altitude and can evade air defense systems, according to CNN.

And Iran has no shortage of the unmanned aerial vehicles — reportedly producing 10,000 per month, according to Reuters.

The drones are also cheap to manufacture, costing between $20,000 and $50,000, according to Open Source Munitions Portal, an online munitions archive run by a non-profit watchdog.

Contrast the $35,000 average cost of an Iranian Shahed drone with an estimated $4 million price tag of a PAC-3, and the cost exchange is 114-1 in favor of Iran.

Aside from missile math, the unknown timeline for Operation Epic Fury also factors in.

President Trump said this week that the military campaign could last four to five weeks, but that the U.S. had the capabilities to go far longer than that.

Hegseth, during a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, implied that the war could stretch up to two months, but reiterated the president’s point that the U.S. has enough munitions and equipment to beat Iran.

A U.S. CENTCOM memo obtained by Politico, meanwhile, detailed that the Pentagon was requesting military intelligence officers to be sent to its headquarters “to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September.”

“The question is which clock will run first,” said Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank the Middle East Institute.

Soliman said that any boots on the ground, including Kurdish allies, has the potential to prolong the conflict, leading to potential U.S. interceptor depletion.

Shortly after Military Times spoke with Soliman, reports emerged that pro-American, Iranian Kurdish forces had been supplied with arms by the CIA and were preparing to attack Iran.

The stress on the interceptor stockpile also depended on the endgame, according to Shalom Lipner, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who served for over 25 years in the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.

“It’s a race of attrition between the two sides to see who can get over the finish line before the other,” Lipner said.

Sen. Mark Kelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, raised concerns over the lopsided interceptor expenses during an interview with CNN.

“We can deal with some of this, but if they have more offensive assets than we have defensive, we get into trouble here possibly really quickly if our magazine depth goes to zero and they can then shoot these things freely around the region,” Kelly said.

The United States launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the initial attack, leaving a vacuum of power that has yet to be filled, though Khamenei’s son is an early favorite to succeed him.

The Trump administration has laid out select objectives for the operation, including the decimation of Iran’s missile capabilities, navy and its nuclear program.

On Tuesday, Cooper announced on X that the U.S. military had struck nearly 2,000 targets, with more than 2,000 munitions. In retaliation, Cooper noted, Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones.

The admiral added Thursday that the U.S. has destroyed 30 Iranian navy vessels, including one off the coast of Sri Lanka — in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility — that was the result of the first U.S. Navy submarine torpedo kill since World War II.

A total of 50,000 U.S. troops, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers and bombers are currently stationed in the theatre, with personnel and ordnance reinforcement on their way, Cooper said.

Hegseth reiterated that during the press conference Thursday, saying the amount of firepower surrounding Iran is about to “surge dramatically.”

“We’ve only just begun to fight, and fight decisively,” he said.

Democrats are condemning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he derided media coverage of the six American service members killed in the war with Iran, accusing the press of focusing on the fallen soldiers to make President Donald Trump “look bad.”

“This is what the fake news misses,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, in which he also avowed that the United States was “winning decisively” in its battle against the Islamic Republic.

“But when a few drones get through, or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” he said, adding, “I get it – the press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality."

The six fallen soldiers were the first American casualties in the new war. The fatalities came one day after the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury.

Pentagon names 5th soldier killed by Iran drone strike, 6th is ‘believed to be’ ID’d

In a statement to Military Times, Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., a 25-year Army veteran, called Hegseth’s remarks “disgusting and despicable.”

“Six brave Americans lost their lives in uniform. Their sacrifice deserves honor,” Vindman said. “Instead, the Secretary of Defense is worried about how their deaths make the president look. That is a grievous insult to every service member who has worn the uniform. As a 25-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, I am appalled.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both legs while serving as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War, told Military Times, “Our men and women in uniform will always show up and execute to the highest levels of professionalism and capabilities. Unfortunately, their Commander-in-Chief is not capable of doing that, and their Secretary of Defense is not capable of it either.”

And Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a retired Navy Captain, wrote in a post on X, “There is nothing more sacred than the lives of our service members. They deserve a president and a Secretary of Defense who respect their service and sacrifice.”

The service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck a makeshift operations center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. The drone reportedly slipped past American defenses without triggering any alerts and exploded at a military base that appeared unusually exposed and vulnerable – raising questions about the security of U.S. forces across the Middle East. The incident is under investigation, the Army said in a statement.

The Pentagon identified the slain soldiers as Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, is “believed to be” the sixth individual to die at the scene, according to the Pentagon.

Trump expressed condolences for the fallen service members Sunday, while acknowledging the American death toll was likely to rise amid the ongoing conflict.

“As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives,” Trump said in a video shared on Truth Social. “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is.”

The White House said the president will attend the dignified transfer of the troops’ remains when they arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The largest U.S. Department of Defense hospital abroad is pausing its labor and delivery services until further notice to focus on the needs of the conflict across the Middle East.

The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, located near Ramstein Air Base in Germany, is temporarily referring some labor and delivery patients to other hospitals within the local community, hospital officials told Military Times on Thursday.

The medical center sent a notice about the halt in those services to Landstuhl patients through a Tuesday memorandum that circulated on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page.

“Our staff is in direct contact with impacted patients to provide additional information and facilitate a smooth transition to our healthcare partners,” center officials told Military Times in a statement.

The memo states that the closure of labor and delivery is due to the hospital’s “primary objective.”

Although the memo doesn’t elaborate on what that objective is, the hospital’s primary role in critical combat care is to treat patients that are injured during training or combat operations throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East, according to the hospital’s website.

During the ongoing U.S. military operations in Iran, the hospital is expected to continue its role in combat care.

Six U.S. service members were killed in an attack by Iran on Sunday in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. Others have been listed as “seriously wounded” by U.S. Central Command as Iran continues to strike U.S. military installations across the Middle East following the joint U.S.-Israeli attack.

CENTCOM said Monday that 18 troops were wounded thus far, a large increase from the five reported over the weekend.

Officials did not detail the extent of the injuries or whether the wounded service members were taken to any military hospitals in Germany or the U.S.

Landstuhl is the largest American medical facility outside the U.S., the only American College of Surgeons-verified level II trauma center overseas and the only U.S. trauma center associated with a foreign trauma network, according to a 2023 U.S. Army release on the center’s 70th anniversary.

The hospital will continue to see labor and delivery patients for prenatal appointments until 36 weeks, according to the memo, and patients that are further along than 36 weeks are urged to contact the hospital about what steps to take next.

The hospital’s labor and delivery unit utilizes nurses, midwives, obstetricians and medical technicians throughout a patient’s birth experience, according to its website.

Hospital officials told Military Times that patients are encouraged to contact the medical center’s patient advocate with questions they may have regarding their care.

“The decision-making occurred at a very high level and we are saddened we cannot provide your care,” the memo reads.

Hospital officials declined to comment on which office made the decision.

There is no current timeline for when labor and delivery services will resume, per the memo.

The Coast Guard chose the site of a former college in Birmingham, Alabama, as the location for its new recruit training center.

The campus of Birmingham-Southern College, which closed its doors in 2024 as a result of financial straits, is considered a turnkey location that could start training new Coast Guard members by the end of the year.

The location was selected because it met nearly immediate occupational requirements at less cost than new construction, federal officials said.

“The acquisition of the historic Birmingham-Southern College as our new training center is a critical step in our Force Design 2028 strategy, providing the right facilities necessary to grow our service and ensure the Coast Guard stands always ready,” Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said in a statement Wednesday.

The Coast Guard launched a modernization plan – Force Design 2028 – last year to reform its administration, add aircraft, ships and unmanned systems and grow its force by 15,000 personnel.

As part of the effort, service officials announced in November that they would open a second recruit training center to complement its 77-year-old Training Center Cape May in New Jersey. The Coast Guard issued a request for information for existing facilities that met requirements, such as being able to house 1,200 recruits and have medical, fitness, dining and classroom facilities to support them.

The location also needed to have a minimum of a six-lane, 25-meter swimming pool, have between 150 to 250 acres of land and be within 30 miles of an airport.

According to officials, the former school meets the service’s requirements.

“This next generation of heroes deserves training centers and support facilities worthy of their mission, and that is exactly what they are going to have in Alabama,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

Birmingham-Southern College was founded in 1918 following a merger of Southern University in Greensboro, Alabama, and Birmingham College. In 2024, following several years of financial struggles and challenges in getting financing, its board voted to close the school and put the campus up for sale.

The Coast Guard did not respond to questions about the purchase price or the cost to transform the campus into a secure military installation by publication.

In 2024, Alabama A&M University made a $52 million offer to purchase the school, but the deal fell through. On Wednesday, Keith Thompson, chairman of the Birmingham-Southern College Board of Trustees, called the sale to the Coast Guard a “terrific outcome” to a bittersweet story.

“While getting to this point has been a long, sad, and challenging journey for everyone who loves Birmingham-Southern, the Board of Trustees is confident that this is the right decision,” Thompson said in a statement. “We welcome the Coast Guard to the Hilltop knowing they will bring significant value, vibrancy, and security to our community.”

At least one U.S. congressman has questioned the Coast Guard’s decision and its process for choosing the site. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, wrote a letter to Lunday on Monday seeking information on the bidding process.

Gonzalez said he believes the Coast Guard already had the location in mind when it issued its request for information in November, and it failed to conduct a competitive bidding process, to include issuing a request for contract proposals.

“This competition must ultimately select the most deserving applicant through a full, fair, and merit-based process,” Gonzalez wrote. “The Coast Guard must follow a clear, established process to ensure fairness and accountability. If a preferred location has already been identified that determination should be communicated immediately.”

Coast Guard adopts service-wide mandatory physical fitness training

Gonzalez’s district is located just south of Corpus Christi, home to Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi and Sector Corpus Christi, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi Army Depot.

Lawmakers from Alabama, including Republican Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt and Rep. Robert Aderholt, a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, praised the decision in statements Wednesday.

“This is a huge day for Birmingham, our great state, and the U.S. Coast Guard. I have long been dedicated to strengthening Alabama’s military installations and the warfighters they serve,” Britt said.

The state of Alabama is familiar with disputes over the location of major military installations. The state of Colorado sued President Donald Trump’s administration over a decision in September to locate U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama.

The two states had competed for the command since the U.S. Space Force’s establishment in 2019. In the closing days of his first term, Trump chose Huntsville, home to Redstone Arsenal and Missile Defense Command.

In 2023, President Joe Biden announced the command would stay in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the site of its temporary headquarters. Trump then announced last September that it would relocate to Huntsville.

The Pentagon has identified one deceased soldier and listed another as a “believed to be casualty,” the fifth and sixth soldiers killed by Iran in a March 1 drone strike that hit Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.

Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, has been identified, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. He was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, “is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene,” according to a Pentagon statement.

“Positive identification of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner,” the release added. Marzan was also assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command.

The Pentagon released the identities of the two soldiers one day after naming four other service members who were killed in the attack.

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, died on March 1. All four soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa.

“We honor our fallen heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a release. “Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten.”

U.S. Central Command officials announced Sunday that three service members were killed in action and five troops were “seriously wounded” during combat actions against Iran.

On Monday officials said a fourth service member seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks succumbed to their injuries. Later that day officials stated U.S. forces recovered the remains of two “previously unaccounted for” troops from a facility struck during Iran’s initial attacks, bringing the total number of service members killed in the operation to six as of Monday, according to a CENTCOM update.

Several other troops “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” CENTCOM officials said Sunday.

“To the families and teammates of these Cactus Nation soldiers: you have my deepest sympathy and my respect,” Maj. Gen. Todd Erskine, commanding general, 79th Theater Sustainment Command, said in the release. “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.”

O’Brien’s awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device

Iran has unleashed retaliatory strikes at U.S. military installations and civilian infrastructure across the Middle East amid ongoing bombardment by U.S. and Israeli forces.

The assault by U.S. and partner forces began Saturday at 1:15 a.m., CENTCOM officials stated, with the goal of knocking out “the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that posed an imminent threat.”

Among the primary targets of the operation were Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command-and-control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.