The Pentagon on Wednesday identified two more U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran, confirming additional losses from a drone attack that struck a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. The deaths were announced following the incident on Sunday that claimed multiple members of an Army Reserve unit.
Officials named Major Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa, as among those killed. The Pentagon also announced the "believed death" of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, noting that positive identification of Marzan would be completed by the medical examiner.
Both O’Brien and Marzan served in the 103rd Sustainment Command from Des Moines, Iowa, which is part of the Army’s global logistics and supply operation. The announcement follows an earlier identification on Tuesday of four other soldiers from the same command who died in the same drone strike, marking those personnel as the first casualties associated with the war.
The four service members previously identified by the military are:
- Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
- Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
- Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
- Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
The Pentagon indicated that the two most recent identifications are part of the same unit and incident. The medical examiner will complete formal identification procedures for Marzan, according to the military statement.
The casualties were announced as the broader conflict shows signs of intensifying. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was quoted Wednesday saying the United States "can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to," a comment that underscores official assurances about the military's capacity to continue operations.
Details in the official announcements have focused on the identities, unit affiliations, and the procedural step of medical-examiner confirmation for one of the deceased. The military has not provided additional operational or investigative findings in the statements released with the identifications.
This sequence of identifications highlights the human toll within the Army Reserve logistics command and the procedural steps the Pentagon follows in confirming servicemember casualties in overseas incidents.