Four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed during an unmanned aircraft attack at the commercial port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, The first confirmed American deaths in the expanding war in Iran.

The Pentagon said the strike hit a tactical operations center used by American personnel supporting military logistics in the region, according to Reuters.

The service members—Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. Declan Coady, and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens—served in the 103rd Sustainment Command, a Des Moines-based Army Reserve unit responsible for moving equipment and sustaining troops across theaters of operation, TIME reports.

Department of Defense

Their deaths marked the first confirmed American military casualties in the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of the Army Reserve, said in a statement the nation will remember their sacrifice. “We honor our fallen heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation,” he told TIME.

Attack in Kuwait Raises Risks for U.S. Troops

The soldiers were working at a tactical operations center at Kuwait’s Shuaiba port when the strike occurred. Defense officials said the projectile penetrated air defenses and struck the facility without warning, CNN reports.

The location supported logistics operations for U.S. forces in the region.

The attack came only days after U.S. and Israeli forces launched military strikes against Iran. Tehran has responded with a wave of retaliatory missiles and drones across the Middle East, according to Reuters.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had nearly two decades of service.

She enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist and transferred to the Army Reserve a year later, according to TIME. She deployed previously to Iraq and Kuwait in 2019.

Amor was close to coming home when the attack occurred. Her husband told reporters she had already entered the final stage of her deployment.

“She was almost home,” Joey Amor told CNN.

At home, she was known as a devoted mother who enjoyed gardening and spending time with her two children.

Sgt. Declan Coady

Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, had just begun his military career.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an information technology specialist while studying information systems, cybersecurity, and computer science at Drake University, according to The New York Times.

Coady had been recommended for promotion shortly before the attack.

“He was very good at what he did,” his father, Andrew Coady, told CNN.

Friends and family described him as quiet but passionate about the things he loved, including technology, fencing, and video games.

Capt. Cody Khork

Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, built a career defined by service.

He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 before commissioning as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. Over the years, he deployed to Saudi Arabia, Guantánamo Bay, and Poland, according to Reuters.

Khork earned several military awards during his career.

His family described a man driven by patriotism and purpose. He “felt a calling to serve his country,” relatives said in a statement reported by TIME.

Those who knew him remembered his energy and loyalty. Friends said he supported others even during difficult moments.

Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens

Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was a veteran soldier and mentor.

He joined the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic and completed earlier deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019, according to TIME.

Outside the military, Tietjens taught martial arts and trained alongside his wife and son at a studio in Nebraska. He hoped one day to open a studio of his own, The New York Times reports.

Fellow soldier Staff Sgt. Jonn Coleman recalled his mentorship.

“He made you feel important,” Coleman told CNN. “And that’s hard to find sometimes in the military.”

Lives Behind the Uniform

The four soldiers ranged in age from 20 to 42 and came from communities across the United States.

All served in a logistics unit responsible for keeping troops supplied with food, water, equipment, and ammunition across military operations, according to Reuters.

Their roles rarely made headlines.

But the work sustained every mission.

As the conflict in the Middle East continues, their names now stand among the first Americans lost in the war. At least six American service members have been killed so far in the war in Iran. Major Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, died during an unmanned aircraft system attack in Kuwait.