The service members, all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, were supporting Operation Epic Fury when the strike hit early Sunday, March 1, according to the US Central Command.
On Wednesday, March 4, the Pentagon identified the two as:
- Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, age 45, of Indianola, Iowa;
- Chief Warrant Officer Robert M. Marzan, age 54, of Sacramento, California.
The four soldiers identified earlier this week were:
- Sgt. Declan J. Coady, age 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa;
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, age 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska;
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, age 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota;
- Capt. Cody A. Khork, age 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
Eighteen other service members were seriously wounded in the attack, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as the result of a "squirter" — a powerful weapon that managed to penetrate US air defenses.
Hegseth called the fallen soldiers "the absolute best of America" and added, "May we prosecute the remainder of this operation in a manner that honors them."
The drone strike was a retaliatory attack by Iran following the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-Israeli campaign that has seen thousands of targets struck across Iran, including command centers and missile sites, according to the CENTCOM Fact Sheet.
US Central Command reported that the Iranian Navy’s presence in the Gulf of Oman has been neutralized, with several frigates and submarines destroyed.
In a related development, three US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses on Monday, March 3, during ongoing operations. All six aircrew members ejected safely and were recovered, according to the latest updates.
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