Pentagon releases names of final two soldiers of six killed in Kuwait

The Pentagon has released the names of the final two of the six soldiers who were killed during a recent drone strike in Kuwait. They were killed on Sunday, the day after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Their names were released by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday.The two soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, 54, and Maj Jeffrey O’Brien, 45. They were from Sacramento, California, and Indianola, Iowa, respectively.O’Brien had earned several awards and decorations during his time in service, including the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon, the Department of Defense said in a statement.The US army reserve said it would investigate the incident that led to their deaths and those of Capt Cody Khork, 35; Sgt Nicole Amor, 39; Sgt Declan Coady, 20; and Sgt Noah Tietjens, 42, who were identified on Tuesday.The Pentagon said Marzan was at the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and is “believed to be the individual who perished at the scene”, according to the statement. A medical examiner will confirm identification, the Pentagon said.“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Donald Trump said in a video statement Sunday when the deaths were announced. “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is, likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”Since Saturday, US and Israeli forces have carried out large-scale strikes across Iran, including striking the compound of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday. Iran has responded with retaliatory strikes, launching missiles aimed at Israel and US military facilities in the region, including in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.According to the Iranian Red Crescent emergency service, at least 787 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday. In Israel, authorities said that at least 10 people had been killed.On Tuesday, the US state department announced a series of charter flights for Americans looking to get out of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.In a statement, a department spokesperson said the government had helped more than 9,000 Americans leave the Middle East and had received requests for assistance from another 3,000 citizens seeking to return to the US.Since the first four soldiers’ names were released, details about their lives and the pride they took in their military service have come out.Armor, a mother to a high schooler and fourth grader, was days from coming to her children and spouse, her husband told the Associated Press. “She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”Coady, a student at Drake University in Des Moines studying cybersecurity, had been checking in with his family from Kuwait every hour or two after the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran, even as Iran launched retaliatory strikes.When he didn’t respond to messages Sunday, “most of us started to wonder”, Coady’s father, Andrew, told the Associated Press. “Your gut starts to get a feeling.”Khork, whose family described him as “the life of the party” to the Associated Press, wanted to be in the military since he was a child and was a part of Florida Southern College’s ROTC program . “That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” his mother, Donna Burhans; father, James Khork; and stepmother, Stacey Khork, said in a statement.Tietjens, who came from a military family, previously served alongside his father in Kuwait, the Associated Press reports. “We lost a brave soldier this weekend and many hearts are broken,” his cousin Kaylyn Golike wrote on Facebook Tuesday.