CNN
By Haley Britzky, Taylor Romine, CNN
(CNN) — Emotional tributes began to pour in after the identification of four US service members who perished in a deadly Iranian drone strike while serving in the port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, the first deaths in the large-scale operation against Iran.
While they all served as soldiers under the US Army Reserve, they played many roles, including a “heroic son” and a mother of two who “was almost home.”
The Pentagon identified four of the six US service members killed as Capt. Cody Khork, 35; Sgt. Declan Coady, 20; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42. All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve sustainment unit out of Iowa. Two other soldiers who were killed in the strike haven’t yet been identified.
While these are the first American casualties in the large-scale operation launched by the US and Israel Saturday, President Donald Trump said Monday that the “big wave” against Iran is yet to come. Both the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that more casualties are likely.
“They’re great people,” Trump said about the six troops who were killed in a phone interview with the Daily Mail. “And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous — it could happen again.”
The soldiers were honored as “relentlessly, consistently, and fearlessly” serving the country, and making “the ultimate sacrifice,” Brig. Gen. Clint A. Barnes, deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, said in a release by the US Army Reserve on Tuesday.
1st Theater Sustainment Command is a stand-alone group based out of Fort Knox, Kentucky, composed of troops from units around the country who are assigned to support roles overseas in nine-month rotations.
The operations center was a triple-wide trailer with office space inside; the building was surrounded by concrete barriers that are typically used to protect military structures overseas from things like car bombs and improvised explosive devices, according to a source familiar. However, there was nothing overhead that could shield the building from drones or missiles.
There was no siren or warning ahead of the strike to give the troops time to take cover in a bunker, the source familiar said.
The four service members varied in careers, with titles ranging from Multiple Launch Rocket System/Fire Direction Specialist to Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic, but all dedicated themselves to public service thousands of miles away from their families despite the unmistakable risks.
Here is what we know about the US service members who took that risk.
Capt. Cody Khork
Khork, who was from Lakeland, Florida, enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014, and deployed to Saudi Arabia; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and Poland.
Behind his sense of