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.

A U.S. Special Operations Command major who saved a comrade from being dragged away by enemy fighters in Afghanistan in 2012 has been authorized by the U.S. House and Senate to receive the nation’s highest combat valor award.

A bill that would authorize the president to award the Medal of Honor to Maj. Nicholas Dockery received unanimous approval in the Senate Tuesday night after Sen Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, brought it up for a vote along with bills to award two other Medals of Honor.

Dockery, 41, who works at U.S. Special Operations Command’s office in the Pentagon, was recognized as Military Times’ Soldier of the Year in 2022.

At the time, he was the only Army officer to have been awarded two Silver Stars for valor in the post-9/11 era, and the only living military officer to have done so.

This congressional authorization, first introduced in the House, would upgrade one of those Silver Stars by two awards.

Dockery, then a lieutenant, had been deployed to Afghanistan’s Kapisa province as a platoon leader with 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Light).

While working closely with an Afghan platoon to provide security for the provincial governor’s compound on Oct. 2, 2012, Dockery’s unit was ambushed by Taliban forces armed to the teeth with rocket launchers, grenades and machine guns.

According to his medal citation, Dockery risked open ground to move back and forth multiple times as his troops engaged the enemy, helping to rally them and reinforce Afghan allies.

When word came to him that one U.S. soldier, Staff Sgt. Eric Mitchell, had been wounded, Dockery immediately went to their defense, killing one enemy soldier with his carbine rifle as he moved deeper into the compound.

Having gathered the four soldiers inside the courtyard, Dockery worked to organize a counter-attack to clear the space, even as the enemy countered with heavy fire and called in reinforcements. At one point, Dockery used his own body to shield another soldier from the blast of an enemy grenade. Every soldier in the group sustained wounds in the onslaught.

As Dockery took stock of things, he realized that one soldier, Sgt. Jack Hansbro, was missing.

In a nearby alley, he found the sergeant being dragged away, unconscious, by two Taliban fighters. He charged at the fighters and killed them both, then turned his attention to Hansbro, providing CPR and life-saving first aid.

As the fight continued, Dockery risked the open roof of the compound to signal with smoke grenades to the gunships that would ultimately lay down suppressive fire and save the men.

Dockery, who would separately earn a second Silver Star, would go on to complete Special Forces deployments to Costa Rica and Colombia, among other places, leading an Operational Detachment-Alpha and serving as aide-de-camp to the leader of 1st Special Forces Command.

Beyond the field, he completed Yale University’s global affairs graduate program, a prestigious and exclusive White House fellowship, and the Douglas MacArthur Leadership award, recognizing top company-grade officers.

The question of upgrading his valor award was first raised around 2019 by retired Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, who had just completed a tenure as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York — Dockery’s alma mater.

The recommendation kicked off an Army chain of command review process that would take the better part of seven years.

Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., introduced the House bill on Jan 21 to award the Medal of Honor to Dockery, an Indianapolis native.

“Maj. Dockery demonstrated extraordinary heroism, going above and beyond the call of duty, while serving in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, and selflessly risked his own life many times to save his soldiers,” Baird said in a statement.

Sen. Todd Young, the senior U.S. Senator from Indiana, heartily endorsed the award.

“Maj. Nicholas Dockery is very deserving of the Medal of Honor,” he told Military Times in a statement. ”He demonstrated sacrifice and unwavering commitment to our nation and his fellow soldiers during his time in Afghanistan, and I am glad that Congress recognizes this incredible Hoosier for exactly what he is — a hero.”

The Army Decoration Board must next make a recommendation about whether to award Dockery the medal, which will then require approval at every level of the chain of command up to the president.

While SOCOM declined to make Dockery available for comment Wednesday, he shared some of his feelings about service in a 2023 Purple Heart commemoration speech at Mount Vernon, in which he also reflected on the 2012 firefight.

“In every humbling moment leading America’s finest warriors, I’ve perpetually felt the challenge of living up to the standards they so rightfully deserve,” Dockery said at the time. “Honoring their trust, recognizing their sacrifices and matching the courage of those beside me demanded a deeper and more profound commitment than I ever envisioned.

“To sacrifice, confront adversities with unyielding determination, and deeply understand the ripple effect of our decisions are the burdens carried by our nation’s sons and daughters. Yet, it is the very cost we shoulder to defend and celebrate American values.”

The History Channel has dropped the first look at its upcoming World War II documentary starring America’s favorite actor-turned-Second World War documentary voiceover extraordinaire: Tom Hanks.

Premiering on May 25, the whopping 20-part series is set to uncover “new dimensions of the conflict,” according to the History Channel.

From “the decisions that shaped the battlefield, the unseen networks that sustained the war effort, and the aftershocks that still shape our world today,” the documentary entitled “World War II with Tom Hanks” offers a definitive retelling of the most destructive war in human history.

“For six dark years,” comes Hanks’ voice in the teaser trailer, “the world was on fire.”

It was a war that toppled empires and reshaped the modern world, but it didn’t just begin as German tanks rolled into Poland, nor did it just escalate with Operation Barbarossa or the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

It was a war that was fomented in the 1920s and 1930s throughout beer halls in Germany and in Manchuria, China, Abyssinia (Ethiopia), Spain and beyond. With over 20 hours of footage, this is a fact that “World War II with Tom Hanks” does not appear to gloss over.

“World War II changed everything … for all of us,” says Hanks. Here’s hoping that the documentary provides new insights into a topic that has been heavily tread.

President Donald Trump will convene defense industry executives Friday for a meeting aimed at rapidly replenishing the U.S. stockpile of munitions and weapons expended in the war against Iran, a White House official and a second person familiar with the plans confirmed to Military Times.

Leaders from Lockheed Martin, RTX, L3Harris and other major defense firms are expected to attend.

In January, the president signed an executive order pressuring America’s largest defense contractors to boost weapons production and delivery by investing in new facilities. Contractors deemed “underperforming” would be required to submit remediation plans or risk losing government support.

The opening salvos of Operation Epic Fury have seen thousands of missiles and munitions rain down on Iran. Trump, who has suggested the campaign would last four to five weeks but could go “far longer,” insists the U.S. military has a “virtually unlimited supply” of weapons.

The White House echoed that message Wednesday, arguing America’s arsenal is effectively limitless. By the time of Saturday’s first strikes on Iran, the Pentagon had amassed the largest military buildup in the Middle East since the Iraq War.

“The United States of America has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury, but to go much further,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. “We have weapons stockpiles in place that many people in this world don’t even know about.”

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in a separate press briefing Wednesday, “We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.” Caine offered no further details.

According to U.S. Central Command, American forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets with more than 2,000 munitions. The U.S. has moved to eradicate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ warehouses, headquarters and military communication capabilities. Dozens of senior Iranian figures have reportedly been killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as an individual who Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as the architect of a 2020 plot to assassinate Trump.

The Islamic Republic was estimated to hold roughly 2,000 to 3,000 medium-range ballistic missiles, 6,000 to 8,000 short-range systems and thousands of drones at the outset of the war, U.S. officials said. Tehran has since retaliated with hundreds of drones and missiles targeting an array of American military installations and civilian targets across the region.

Six U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait.

Four of the soldiers were identified Tuesday as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.

The Defense Department had not identified two of the deceased as of Wednesday afternoon, pending notifications of their families.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged on Wednesday that some Iranian air attacks may still hit their targets even as he asserted that U.S. military superiority is quickly giving it control of the Islamic Republic’s airspace.

The United States has spared “no expense or capability” to enhance air defense systems to protect American forces and allies in the Middle East, Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in a war that has widened throughout the region.

“This does not mean we can stop everything, but we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense,” he said.

The acknowledgment that additional drone or missile strikes in the region could cause damage and harm to troops comes as President Donald Trump and top defense leaders have warned that more American casualties were expected in a conflict that began Saturday and could last months.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration revealed that a U.S. submarine fired a torpedo that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.

‘The risk is still high’ to American troops

U.S. service members “remain in harm’s way, and we must be clear-eyed that the risk is still high,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference with Hegseth.

Six soldiers were killed when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center Sunday in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait, more than 10 miles from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, says the center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.

Caine declined to answer a question about the possibility of deploying ground troops in Iran, which Trump has not ruled out.

“I’m not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground,” Caine said. “I think that’s a question for policymakers. And I don’t make policy, I execute policy.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that it was “not part of the plan for this operation at this time” but noted that “I’m not going to remove an option for the president that is on the table.”

Hegseth suggests conflict could last up to 2 months

Hegseth also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the administration, saying it could last eight weeks but that the U.S. has the munitions and the equipment to beat Iran in a war of attrition. He declined to set a specific time range, saying the specific duration of the war would depend on how it unfolds.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”

More forces are arriving in the region, including jet fighters and bombers, Hegseth said, and the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

Hegseth and Caine say US forces have enough munitions

Supplies of weaponry are not an issue, Hegseth and Caine said, with the defense secretary noting that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign but was switching to gravity bombs now that the U.S. has gained control of the Iranian sky. Stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain “extremely strong,” Hegseth said.

Caine said U.S. attacks on Iranian missile sites and other offensive targets have been successful enough that forces can strike deeper inland, allowing for the shift from sophisticated weapons that can be launched from far away to more traditional, precision bombs dropped by aircraft.

Caine said the U.S. has “sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.” He noted that the military would not be releasing quantities, citing operational security.

“Our air defenses and that of our allies have plenty of runway,” Hegseth said. “We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to.”

Trump said this week the campaign is likely to last four weeks to five weeks but he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

The number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran is down 86% from the first day of the U.S. military’s campaign, with a 23% drop in the past 24 hours, Caine said Wednesday, and Iran’s use of one-way attack drones is down 73% from the opening days. The decrease could indicate that Iran is holding some weapons in reserve to prolong the conflict.

Americans scramble to depart the Mideast

The administration promoted its efforts to help Americans depart the region. It abruptly advised those in 14 countries to leave immediately even as the threat of missiles and drones closed airspace in the region and caused widespread flight cancellations.

The State Department said it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans since the start of the war and was working to arrange charter flights or other transportation. Caine said the military has opened up available seats as military transport planes arrive “to try to help folks get out.”

The State Department said more than 17,500 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East since Saturday, including more than 8,500 on Tuesday alone, although it acknowledged that the vast majority of those used commercial transportation without any government assistance.

U.S. sailors partook in a time-honored tradition of writing messages or their own names on bombs loaded onto planes during Operation Epic Fury.

Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln marked the ordnances they helped prepare for the mission, according to recent photos posted by the U.S. Central Command. Task & Purpose senior editor Matt White was first to notice the trend.

The photos show ordnances — which appear to be GBU-31s, a 2,000-pound class Joint Direct Attack Munition — being staged on Feb. 28 by red-vested aviation ordnancemen prior to being loaded onto strike fighter aircraft in support of Operation Epic Fury, according to CENTCOM photos.

It is unclear if the ordnancemen seen in the photos are those with their names on the bombs.

On the tails, noses and sides of the bombs, names and messages are scribbled in chalk and marker.

While visible names include “Jose,” “Alex,” “Naomi,” “Joey” messages written in smaller script and on the tails are less visible.

But messages of bravado inscribed on bombs, missiles and other munitions are nothing new.

A lead sling bullet, now housed at The British Museum, can be seen with the tongue-in-cheek inscription of DEXAI or “Catch!” in Greek.

Historian John McCaul in "On Inscribed Sling-Bullets," notes that slings and lead bullets were frequently employed during sieges with town names and deities also inscribed on the projectiles.

The more ironic ones have stood the test of time, with zingers like the one found near the city of Argos, Greece, with the inscription “Bite it in vain” — aka the ancient equivalent to the idiom “This is a hard nut to crack.”

In 1945, the atomic bomb “Fat Man” was dropped by the U.S. at Nagasaki, Japan, and photos of its assembly show that names and messages were etched into the atomic bomb by people involved in its creation. Norman Ramsey, a physicist and member of the Manhattan Project, can be seen signing his name on “Fat Man” prior to its polar cap being placed on.

Photos from the National Museum of the U.S. Navy shows messages on the atomic bomb, like “Here’s to you” and “Lots of love.”

This action can be seen throughout history and is still prevalent today for many countries’ military members.

In 2015, Jordanian pilots used chalk to write messages on missiles headed for Syria vowing to eliminate the Islamic State. The messages included quotes from the Quran and statements meant for its target: “For you, the enemies of Islam,” according to BBC reporting at the time.

More recently, Ukrainian artillerymen have been writing messages on rockets, mortar shells or explosive drones used during the war in Ukraine as a way to symbolically voice their anger. Charity groups and even the military itself have capitalized on this idea by using this as a way to raise funds, per New York Times reporting.

While such expressions may appear infantile bordering on the obscene, the impulse to personalize weapons of war taps into, according to an American pilot who served in Vietnam, “the very primitive magical notion that, once you have named something, you have control over it.”

A job announcement from a veteran-owned military contractor raised alarm on social media Wednesday over a potential escalation of U.S. military operations abroad.

Manassas, Virginia-based Joint Technology Solution, Inc., has active job advertisements on Indeed and Glassdoor for on-call, part-time “personal effects specialists” to handle the belongings of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The job notices, which aren’t dated, drew the attention of Rebekah Jones, an activist and climate scientist, who posted one on her popular X account.

“Not a good sign for the United States that Dover AFB is ‘urgently hiring’ people to sort through the personal effects of dead soldiers,” Jones wrote.

The post drew more than 660,000 views and 500 comments, with some complaining about the rate of pay or wondering if the job or the business was even real. Many asked if the company was preparing for more casualties in the war against Iran.

“Has it not dawned to anyone yet that this may be in preparation for eventualities?" wrote an observer with the social media handle Wild Blue Jester.

Joint Technology Solution received a $595,000 contract in June 2025 to provide support for the Joint Personal Effects Depot at Dover Air Force Base, which is home to Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations. Hillary Boyce, a program manager for the contract, said the ads run monthly, and it’s difficult to find qualified applicants.

The advertisement does not include the words “urgently hiring,” although the duties are ever-present, and the pay is limited to $15.66 an hour by the terms of the contract, Boyce said during an interview with Military Times.

According to the Indeed posting, the job requires a secret security clearance, the ability to work in a military environment and “compassion for members of the US Armed Forces and the families of those killed or severely injured.”

Boyce said the ideal candidates are recent military retirees, military spouses and Reserve or National Guard members who already live in Delaware and are looking for a part-time position that helps service members and their families.

The Joint Personal Effects Depot was established on Sept. 11, 2001, when Army quartermaster units were called on to gather, safeguard and return personal items retrieved in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations provides services to U.S. troops worldwide. At Dover, it is responsible for the dignified transfer of Defense Department personnel and dependents from overseas locations and the processing of remains of service members and DOD civilians killed while supporting military operations abroad.

The quiet artistry of bringing the dead home from war

Six Army Reserve soldiers were killed Saturday in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, in a strike on their command center by an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle.

On Tuesday, the Defense Department identified four of the deceased as members of the 103^rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa. They were: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.

The Defense Department had not identified two of the deceased as of Wednesday afternoon, pending notifications of their next of kin.

“To the families of our fallen, we grieve with you today, and we look forward to welcoming your family members home at Dover in the coming days,” Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a press conference Wednesday at the Pentagon.

The Defense Department has not announced when the six fallen service members will return to U.S. soil.

The administration has given few details on the state for the Iran operation. On Wednesday, as U.S. strikes entered their fifth day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the conflict could last anywhere between three to eight weeks.

“Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance,” Hegseth said.

He added that operations would continue with the goals to “obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons.”

U.S. officials have said a ground invasion is not part of the plan, but Caine declined to answer a question at the press conference about the possibility of ground troops serving in the country.

“I’m not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground,” Caine said. ”I think that’s a question for policymakers. And I don’t make policy, I execute policy.”

Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations did not respond to a request for comment about the job posting by the time of publication.

Boyce said she welcomes questions about the personnel effects specialist job at Dover and urged those interested to apply.

“We are always looking for qualified candidates,” she said.

The U.S. military recently deployed Lockheed Martin’s long-range Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, for the first time in combat against Iranian targets, U.S. Central Command announced.

Video released Wednesday shows the next-gen munitions being launched in open desert terrain from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of Operation Epic Fury. The operation against Iran has seen a variety of precision munitions launched from land, sea and air, according to CENTCOM.

“I just could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform leveraging innovation to create dilemmas for the enemy,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a release.

The PrSM is enhanced with GPS capabilities to navigate in flight and can accurately strike targets from around 250 miles away. Its warhead is designed to deliver a fragmentation effect when it explodes, increasing power on impact. The missile, meanwhile, is reportedly built to withstand turbulent in-flight conditions.

The PrSM is among a wide array of advanced technological assets the U.S. military has deployed during its ongoing operations in Iran.

Other notable weapon deployments in the ongoing conflict include Patriot Interceptor Missile Systems and THAAD Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems. LUCAS one-way attack drones were also used for the first time in combat by the U.S. Special Operations Command-led Task Force Scorpion Strike.

Specific details about the targets engaged by the PrSMs have not been provided as of publication.

Prior to its combat debut, the U.S. Army was working with Lockheed Martin to ramp up production capacity for the munition, Defense News reported last October.

The Army tested its short-range and long-range capabilities on White Sands Missile Range in April and September of last year. Tests saw the munitions fired from HIMARS systems as well as the M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS.

Operation Epic Fury has seen over 2,000 military targets across Iran destroyed, the Pentagon said, including a naval frigate that was sunk in the first torpedo kill by a U.S. Navy submarine since World War II.

A United States Navy submarine sank an Iranian ship with a single torpedo this week as the frigate was transiting the Indian Ocean, marking the first such kill by a U.S. submarine since World War II, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the strike while discussing updates surrounding ongoing combat engagements in Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean ... an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.”

Caine also confirmed the action on Wednesday, noting a fast attack submarine off the southern coast of Sri Lanka “sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mk-48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.”

The last U.S. boat to notch a confirmed torpedo kill on an enemy vessel, meanwhile, was the Tench-class submarine USS Torsk, which sent two Japanese coastal defense frigates below the waves on Aug. 14, 1945, one day prior to the country’s surrender in the Pacific.

Commissioned on Dec. 16, 1944, Torsk began its first war patrol under the command of Comdr. Bafford E. Lewellen in March the following year.

The submarine, however, did not find much action initially. By 1945, the U.S. had all but crippled Japanese shipping.

A postwar Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee found that by August 1945, “American forces had sunk 611 Japanese naval vessels, totaling 1,822,210 tons; and 2,117 merchant vessels, of 7,913,858 tons. Of that, submarines contributed a huge part, accounting for 201 naval vessels (540,192 tons) and 1,113 merchant vessels (4,779,902 tons) — or about 33% of naval vessels by number and 30% by tonnage, and 52.5% of merchant vessels by number and 60% by tonnage.”

By August, “Lewellen’s Looters” were just beginning their second — and what would be their final — war patrol.

After spending the first two days of the month at Guam the submarine set course for the Sea of Japan, where the Torsk’s entry into the WWII record books would be cemented.

On the morning of Aug. 14, the day after Torsk took out a small freighter, the submarine was operating off the coast when it spotted a 745-ton “Kaibokan”-class patrol escort vessel.

Torsk promptly found its target with a Mark 28 torpedo, bending “the stern of the frigate up to a 30-degree angle” before it sank soon after, according to Naval History and Heritage Command.

Around noon that same day another enemy frigate appeared in Torsk’s sights.

“Continuing her aggressive action, Torsk fired a Mark 28 torpedo at the frigate which had already detected the submarine’s presence," NHHC notes. “Comdr. Lewellen then initiated deep submergence procedures and ordered the crew to rig for silent running. After a tense five minutes, she reached 400 feet and there she launched another torpedo, this time the new acoustic Mark 27.

“Almost immediately, a loud explosion announced that the first torpedo had found its mark, and a minute later a second explosion sounded, followed by strong breaking up noises. The secret new torpedoes had proven their worth in battle.”

For seven more hours the submarine and its crew remained submerged, held down by enemy planes and patrol vessels before at last resurfacing and heading for the Noto peninsula off the coast of Japan.

The following day, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s unconditional surrender.

The Torsk’s sinking of the enemy vessel marked the last U.S. Navy submarine torpedo kill for eight decades — until U.S. actions against Iran on March 3, 2026.

The identity of the fast-attack boat which carried out the action this week was not revealed, as is custom for operational security surrounding submarine operations.

Military forces from Ecuador and the United States have begun joint military operations against organized crime groups in the South American country, the Pentagon said, although as of Wednesday specific details, including the location and scope of the operation, remained scarce.

U.S. Southern Command said in a statement late Tuesday that Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces had launched “operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador,” calling the actions a “powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.”

A 30-second video accompanying a post on X showed a helicopter flying over a group of men walking on the ground, but the footage stops without revealing the following steps.

“We are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” the post added, without providing other details of the operation.

Ecuador’s foreign and defense ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The operation was not mentioned Wednesday at the Pentagon briefing, which was focused on Iran.

The announcement comes after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa revealed earlier this week that his government has initiated a new phase in the fight against organized crime with joint actions alongside allied countries, as Ecuador faces a sustained wave of violence linked to crimes such as drug trafficking and illegal mining.

“Ecuador demands security, our people need to live in peace,” said Noboa, adding that military and police forces will be involved in the operations he described as “very important.”

Ecuador maintains good relations with the United States, Israel and Italy, among others, often collaborating on security issues.

In February, Noboa ordered the foreign ministry to seek cooperation agreements with “allied nations” that would allow “the incorporation of special forces” on a temporary basis as support for the Ecuadorian police and armed forces.

Authorities identify Ecuador as a critical logistical hub in the global drug trade, where drugs — particularly cocaine — are stockpiled, stored and distributed, especially from the northern border with Colombia.

The shipments are transported from its ports to Central America, the United States and Europe.

An alleged mastermind of an Iranian covert unit accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump in 2024 has been “hunted down and killed” amid Operation Epic Fury, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday.

“Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth declared during a press briefing with reporters. “This is not a ‘mission accomplished’ situation. This is simply a reality check.”

Iranian animus toward Trump traces back to his first term, when he authorized a January 2020 drone strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani, a powerful commander in the Quds Force. Since then, federal prosecutors have charged multiple people in two separate cases of Iranian murder-for-hire plots during the 2024 presidential campaign, though officials have not presented evidence directly tying Tehran to those schemes.

Hegseth did not name the alleged mastermind he said was killed in the ongoing operations.

In an interview Sunday, Trump addressed how the threats to his life spurred his decision to wage war on Iran and kill the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“I got him before he got me,” Trump said in a phone interview with ABC News. “They tried twice. Well, I got him first.”

Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, was killed Saturday by Israel in a joint operation with the U.S. It was the result of months of close intelligence sharing between the allies, officials told Military Times.

Hegseth described the broader U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran on Wednesday as “accelerating.” He indicated the two nations will establish complete control of Iranian airspace within days.

“It means we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing, and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military,” Hegseth said. “More and larger waves are coming. We are accelerating, not decelerating.”

Hegseth dismissed reports that stocks of munitions were running low, noting that the U.S. will deploy 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision bombs “of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile.”

As U.S. and Israeli forces advance their offensive, Iran has launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes on American interests and allies across the Middle East.

US troops who died in Iran war remembered as devoted parents and soldiers

American military installations — including the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates — have been targeted by the Islamic Republic.

But Gen. Dan Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that Iranian ballistic missile launches have decreased 86% since the opening day of fighting, including a 23% drop over the past 24 hours. He added that Iran’s one-way attack drones are down 73%.

The Pentagon also disclosed that a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean Tuesday night – marking the first sinking of an enemy warship by an American torpedo since World War II.

A United States Navy submarine sank an Iranian ship with a single torpedo as the frigate was transiting the Indian Ocean, marking the first such kill by a U.S. submarine since World War II, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike during a Pentagon press briefing on Operation Epic Fury alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine.

“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean ... an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.”

The identity of the fast-attack boat was not revealed, as is custom for operational security surrounding submarine operations.

The strike occurred off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, according to Reuters, which would indicate the action occurred in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility.

The IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate assigned to the Southern Fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, was in the region after reportedly taking part in a naval drill in the Bay of Bengal.

Sri Lankan Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said 180 people were on board the IRIS Dena. Thirty-two people were subsequently rescued by Sri Lankan naval personnel.

Commander Buddhika Sampath, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman, said the rescue effort was also recovering bodies from the scene.

“For the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mk-48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea,” Caine said during the press briefing Wednesday.

“This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach. To hunt, find and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale.”

Caine added that, to date, the U.S. has hit over 2,000 total targets across Iran and destroyed more than 20 of the Islamic Republic’s naval vessels.

The campaign has “effectively neutralized, at this point in time, Iran’s major naval presence in theater,” he said.

Strikes on infrastructure and naval capability by the vast assembly of U.S. forces in the region are expected to continue over the next 24 to 48 hours, Caine noted.

“We’ll continue to assess our progress against the military objectives,” he said.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children when a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait killed her and five other U.S. service members.

“She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said from their home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Tuesday. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”

Amor was one of four U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war on Sunday and identified Tuesday by the Pentagon; two soldiers haven’t yet been publicly identified. The members of the Army Reserve worked in logistics and kept troops supplied with food and equipment.

They died just one day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.

Those killed also included Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; 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. No other names were released.

“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.

“Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is,” President Donald Trump said of deaths.

One of the youngest in his class

Coady had just told his father last week that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.

He was one of the youngest people in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, his father Andrew Coady said Tuesday.

“He was very good at what he did,” he said.

Coady trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves and was studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer.

“I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”

A mother of two who loved gardening

Amor, 39, was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, a senior in high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter.

A week before the drone attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building that had no defenses, Joey Amor said.

“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.

He last spoke to her about two hours before she was killed. He said she was working long shifts and they had been messaging about her tripping and falling the night before.

“She just never responded in the morning,” he said.

A calling to serve his country

Khork was very patriotic and drawn from a young age to serving the U.S., his family said in a statement Tuesday.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve and joined Florida Southern College’s ROTC program.

“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,” said his mother, Donna Burhans, father, James Khork, and stepmother, Stacey Khork, in a statement.

Khork also loved history and had a degree in political science.

His family described him as “the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him.”

One of Khork’s friends, Abbas Jaffer, posted on Facebook on Monday that he had lost the best person he had ever known.

“My best friend, best man, and brother gave his life defending our country overseas,” Jaffer said. Khork and Jaffer had been friends for more than 16 years.

A loving father and husband

Tietjens lived with his family in the Omaha suburb of Bellevue, Nebraska. He was married with a son, according to a Facebook page.

Tietjens earned a black belt in Philippine Combatives and Taekwondo and was “an instructor who gave his time, discipline, and leadership to others,” the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance said in a Facebook post.

On the mat and as a soldier, “he carried the same values: honor, discipline, service, and commitment to others,” the organization said.

Nebraska Gov. Gov. Pillen paid tribute to the family Tuesday.

“Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget," he wrote.

“We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,” he said.

The Pentagon has identified four service members who were killed in action over the weekend during operations against Iran.

Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, died on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, according to a DOD release.

The soldiers, who were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, were killed during an attack by an unmanned aircraft, the release added.

The incident is currently under investigation.

“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.”

Khork enlisted as a 13P (multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist) in the National Guard in 2009, officials stated. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014, deploying to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024.

Khork’s awards include: the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and “M” Device and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

Amor enlisted in the National Guard as a 92A (automated logistics specialist) in 2005. She transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006 and later deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.

Amor’s awards include: the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.

Tietjens enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a 91B (wheeled vehicle mechanic). He previously deployed twice to Kuwait, once in 2009 and again in 2019.

Tietjens’ awards include: the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.

Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as a 25B (Army information technology specialist).

Coady’s awards include: the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

Additional details surrounding the circumstances of the other service members’ deaths have not yet been made available.

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.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as news unfolds.

The number of American personnel killed and injured in Operation Epic Fury rose Monday as the United States continued its assault on Iran, U.S. Central Command officials confirmed.

In a statement on X, Central Command said a service member who had been “seriously wounded” in the initial assault had succumbed to their injuries. Two others, who were previously unaccounted for, have been recovered — bringing the total number of military personnel killed in action to six.

Pentagon officials did not provide specifics on the circumstances that lead to the deaths, but during a press conference Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a projectile had made it through air defenses and struck a fortified U.S. military position.

Hegseth did not disclose the facility’s location, but reporting by the Washington Post indicated the casualties occurred in Kuwait.

“You have air defenses and lots coming in, and you hit most of it, and we absolutely do — we have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while, you might have one, unfortunately — we call it a ‘squirter’ — that makes its way through, and in that particular case, it hit a tactical operations center,” Hegseth said.

U.S. Central Command said Monday that 18 troops had been wounded, up from the five reported over the weekend, according to Stars and Stripes.

Central Command did not respond to questions regarding the extent of the injuries or whether the service members had been evacuated from the theatre to U.S. military hospitals in Germany or the United States.

The U.S. and Israel launched strikes Saturday on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported by mid-day Eastern Standard Time that 555 Iranians had been killed in the initial assault.

During a press conference Monday, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that additional air assets were being sent to the region but he declined to say how many service members were in theatre.

“I think we are just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and combat power,” Caine said.

The identities of the fallen have not been released pending notification of the next of kin.

Caine warned Monday that there would likely be more casualties.

“We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said. “But, as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”

At a White House ceremony Monday honoring three Medal of Honor recipients, President Donald Trump said the purpose of the operation was three-fold: to destroy Iran’s missile capability; “annihilate” their navy; and ensure that the country would never have nuclear weapons.

Over the weekend, U.S. Northern Command raised the security levels on military installations in the United States to Force Protection Level Bravo, indicating a higher state of alert for those guarding U.S. bases.

Under the Bravo condition, 100% of people entering installations will be required to show current identification and vehicles may be subjected to inspection.

Also, the Trusted Traveler Program — an initiative that allows service members, those who hold a Defense Department identification card and civilians to bring individuals on base without a background check — is suspended.

President Donald Trump, in his first public comments since unleashing Operation Epic Fury, defended U.S. military operations against Iran as necessary to “eliminate the grave threats posed to America.”

The president, speaking Monday at a White House Medal of Honor ceremony recognizing American veterans from the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, estimated the attacks on the Islamic Republic could last four to five weeks. But he insisted the U.S. has the capability to extend its bombardment far longer.

Trump argued the operation was “our last best chance to strike” the Iranian regime, which he described as “sick and sinister.”

The U.S. and Israel bombed Iran after three rounds of nuclear negotiations, mediated by Oman, failed to produce a breakthrough. The regime in Tehran, Trump said, posed an imminent threat to the U.S. because it would “soon” have missiles capable of reaching “our beautiful America.” Many experts, however, believe Iran is years away from developing a missile with the range necessary to hit the United States.

Trump set forth four objectives of the war: destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, “annihilating” its navy, preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensuring the “Iranian regime” cannot continue to “arm, fund and direct” its proxy groups elsewhere in the Middle East, sometimes collectively known as the Axis of Resistance.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Monday the U.S. is sending additional troops and fighter jets to the Middle East to strengthen its military posture. Caine declined to provide specifics on the size of the deployment.

“We are just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and total combat power,” he said.

Additional troops to deploy to Middle East as Gen. Caine says to expect ‘additional losses’

As the conflict escalated, a fourth American service member was killed in action, U.S. Central Command announced Monday. The identities of all the deceased troops are being withheld until after next of kin notifications are complete, CENTCOM said.

Trump’s administration acknowledged the war could result in further American casualties. In his speech Monday, the president expressed condolences to the families of the fallen.

“Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action and send our love and support to their families,” Trump said. “In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people.”