A U.S. Army Reserve soldier from Sacramento has been named as one of the six servicemembers killed in a strike on their base in Kuwait in the opening days of the military campaign against Iran.
The Department of Defense announced yesterday it believes 54-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan died at the scene of a March 1 drone strike on a command post in Port Shuaiba. Pentagon officials said a medical examiner will positively identify Marzan’s remains.
His photograph was not immediately released by the Pentagon or Army officials.
In a statement, Governor Gavin Newsom and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis offered their condolences to Marzan’s wife and family. They called the Army Reservist, “a courageous Californian whose service to our nation was marked by honor and distinction.”
“The sacrifices made by military families are immeasurable, and California stands in solidarity with them, united in grief and gratitude. Chief Warrant Officer Three Marzan’s steadfast commitment exemplifies the highest ideals of our state and our country,” Newsom and Kounalakis wrote.
Newsom also ordered flags at the State Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space to be flown at half-staff in his honor.
Members of California’s Congressional delegation also issued statements mourning Marzan including Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and Representative Doris Matsui.
Marzan was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), a supplies and logistics unit based in Des Moines, Iowa. All six soldiers killed in the attack were with the same unit.
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa.U.S. Army
Also on Wednesday, Army officials identified 45-year-old Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien of Waukee, Iowa as one of the casualties.
The other four soldiers were previously identified as:
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa
The attack came one day after the U.S. and Israel launched military attacks against Iran, called Operation Epic Fury, which killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and multiple other senior officials.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and launching drones at Israel and surrounding Gulf states where U.S. and allied military forces are based.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) initially announced March 1 three U.S. servicemembers were killed in action. This was later revised to four and then six deaths after another soldier died of their injuries, and the remains of two others who were previously unaccounted for were recovered. They are the first U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict.
From left, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn., Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Fla., and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.Sgt. Brent Newton/U.S. Army via AP
Kuwaiti officials also acknowledged accidentally shooting down three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft on March 1 in a friendly fire incident, though all six aircrew ejected safely.
CNN and CBS News reported the operations center targeted by the Iranian drone was located at a Kuwaiti civilian port, miles away from the main Army base at Camp Arifjan.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday described the facility as a “tactical operations center” that was hit when a projectile made it through U.S. air defenses. But Amor’s husband told the Associated Press Tuesday the facility was a shipping container-style building without defenses.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell later called it a “secure facility” fortified with six-foot walls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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