The Department of War identified four U.S. soldiers who have died in the operation, including Captain Cody Khork from Winter Haven.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — An Army Captain from Winter Haven is among those who died during Operation Epic Fury, which began over the weekend with U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran.
The Department of War, previously the Department of Defense, identified the names of four Army Reserve soldiers who died supporting the operation. Among them, Captain Cody Khork, 35, was from the city in Polk County.
According to officials from the DoW, the following soldiers died in the operation:
Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla. Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb. Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn. Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
The soldiers “died on March 1, 2026, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, during an unmanned aircraft system attack. All Soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. The incident is under investigation,” according to DoW’s statement.
The U.S. military reported Monday afternoon that a total of six U.S. service members have now been killed in the Iran operation.
10 Tampa Bay News reached out to the family of Khork, who asked for privacy and time to process the events announced.
“We honor our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation. Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” Lieutenant General Robert Harter, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a statement. “On behalf of the Army Reserve, we express our heartfelt condolences to their families and loved ones.”
According to the U.S. Army Reserve Command, Captain Khork was an experienced servicemember, noting that he enlisted in the National Guard in 2009. He also commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. Captain Khork deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba in 2021 and Poland in 2024.
Captain Khork also had multiple awards and decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, among plenty others, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
The recent escalation of violence and tensions in the Middle East was marked by the U.S.-Israel strikes in Iran on Saturday. CBS News reports that 787 have died in Iran, as of March 3. The death of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who led the nation since 1989, was reported Sunday, following the weekend attacks.