The Department of Defense announced the identity of the fifth U.S. Army Reserve soldier who was killed on Sunday in an apparent Iranian drone attack at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait.
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa, was named on Wednesday night as one of the six American soldiers who were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa, to die in the attack.
The Defense Department also announced that Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., was at the scene of the attack and is believed to be the sixth U.S. casualty. Positive identification will be completed by the medical examiner, a DoD release said.
“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.
Maj. O’Brien was commissioned in the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012 and had deployed to Kuwait in 2019, according to an Army Reserve release.
His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.
On Tuesday, the Defense Department released the names of four other soldiers killed in the attack on March 1: Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa.
The Army said the incident is under investigation. Multiple reports indicate that the operations center that was hit by an Iranian drone was not as fortified as most U.S. bases. A source familiar with the situation described the center to CNN as a "triple-wide trailer with office space inside" and added the drone attack "came quickly and with no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker."
“To our Gold Star families, to our wounded warriors, and their loved ones, we will never forget your sacrifice,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a news conference earlier Wednesday. “Our nation stands with you and we are eternally grateful for your courage, your resilience, your devotion to this mission and to our mission.”
Gen. Caine has previously said the U.S. expected additional losses.