The households of the six US Army Reserve troopers who had been killed this week in Kuwait watched as their family members had been brought home throughout a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday.
President Donald Trump, first woman Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance joined prime army officers observing the solemn occasion on an overcast afternoon.
The army recognized the six service members killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1 as Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. Declan Coady. Marzan is believed to have been killed in the strike, however continues to be awaiting ultimate constructive identification by a medical expert.
All six troopers had been assigned with the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa. They had been serving in the Middle East with the first Theater Sustainment Command, which oversees the supplying US forces all through the Middle East.
Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes, the deputy commanding basic of 1st Theater Sustainment Command, stated this week that the troopers served “relentlessly, consistently, and fearlessly.”
“They were the ultimate ambassadors for freedom,” Barnes stated. “They represent the best of what our country stands for. May God grant their families peace and comfort in their memories. We will never forget them.”
Four of the six troopers recognized had served in the army for roughly twenty years, whereas the youngest had simply enlisted in 2023. Several of them had deployed collectively to Kuwait with the identical unit beforehand, a former senior chief throughout the 103rd Sustainment Command advised NCS.
Khork, 35, is remembered by his family members because the “life of the party” who was “known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him,” his mother and father and stepmother stated in an announcement to NCS.
Amor was simply days from returning home, her husband Joey Amor advised the Associated Press. She had served in the army since enlisting in 2005, and leaves behind two kids — a senior in highschool and a fourth grader.
O’Brien was “not only a role model to our kids, but also a goofy and silly dad, always looking for ways to make the kids laugh,” his household stated in an announcement to NCS affiliate KCCI. He was a husband and father to 3 kids.
A good friend of Marzan’s described the chief warrant officer as somebody who “would do anything for you, and family and friends meant the most to him.” His sister described him as a “strong leader who lived by example.”
Tietjen, who would have celebrated his forty third birthday on Tuesday, is remembered as a mentor to youthful troopers and somebody who was “so easy to get along with,” the house owners of a studio in Bellevue, Nebraska, that Tietjen frequented stated in an announcement. He leaves behind a spouse and son.
Coady, 20, was an Eagle Scout and health club fanatic. His father stated he was contemplating extending his deployment for one more 9 months regardless of anticipating to come back home in May. He “was a man of few words more often than not,” his sister stated in an announcement to NCS, “but if you ever had the chance to talk to him about something he was passionate about, you were lucky.”
NCS first reported that the strike occurred on a makeshift operations middle on the civilian port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on Sunday morning native time. A supply acquainted with the state of affairs advised NCS the troopers had been figuring out of a constructing they described as a triple-wide trailer with workplace area inside. The drone strike got here rapidly, and there was no siren or warning forward of time, which might give time for troops to evacuate to a bunker, the supply stated.
While there have been concrete barrier partitions surrounding the constructing, the supply stated, there was nothing overhead that might protect it from drones or missiles. Those sorts of boundaries are typical for army buildings abroad to guard them from issues like automotive bombs.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine stated this week that the nation grieves with the households of the six fallen.
“To our Gold Star families, to our wounded warriors and their loved ones, we will never forget your sacrifice,” Caine stated throughout a Pentagon briefing. “Our nation stands with you, and we are eternally grateful for your courage, your resiliency, your devotion to this mission and to our nation.”