Approximately 140 American service members in the Middle East have been injured since the war against Iran began about a week and a half ago.
Roughly 75% of those service members have returned to duty already, though eight service members are still listed as “severely injured,” according to chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks. The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” Parnell told the Washington Examiner.
The new estimate from the department is a significant jump from previous acknowledgements of American casualties. Parnell did not specify what countries those troops were in or what bases they were at when they sustained their injuries.
In addition to those injured, seven service members have been killed. Six of them died in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait at the Port of Shuaiba, while another American service member was killed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
They were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20. Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, and Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged on Tuesday that the U.S. “knew it was a possibility” that Iran could target assets across the Persian Gulf, though he admitted, “I can’t say that we anticipated necessarily that’s exactly how they would react.”
The threats American forces are facing from Iranian drones have prompted the Trump administration to reach out to the Ukrainians for help, given their experience in defending against Russian drones, which are modeled after Iranian drones.
UKRAINE LOOKS TO PROVE ITS VALUE TO AMERICA WITH DRONE ASSISTANCE
President Donald Trump has given conflicting timelines for how long the war will extend, and Hegseth said on Tuesday that they will continue until the president decides Iran no longer poses a threat to America.
“Where we are is a very strong place, giving the president of the United States maximum options,” Hegseth said. “And from the beginning, from this point, we haven’t seen how long it will take. Our will is endless. Ultimately, the president gets to determine the end state of those objectives, right, but what he said continually, I want the American people to understand is this is not endless.”
