A Winter Haven soldier has been identified among the first American casualties of Operation Epic Fury.
Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, was killed March 1 in a drone attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting U.S. military operations linked to the new campaign against Iran.
The Defense Department said Khork was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), based in Des Moines, Iowa, and was deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Epic Fury.
Officials said an unmanned aircraft system struck the port area where Khork and other soldiers were operating; the incident remains under investigation. Three other Army
Reserve soldiers were killed in the same attack: Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
Khork, a veteran of multiple overseas tours, first joined the National Guard in 2009 and later commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve, serving in Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay and Poland before his final deployment. Military leaders praised Khork and his fellow soldiers as heroes who “served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation” and vowed their sacrifice “will never be forgotten.”
Local and national tributes continued Tuesday, with elected officials highlighting “CPT Cody A. Khork of Winter Haven, who was killed while serving our nation during Operation Epic Fury,” and asking Floridians to keep his family in their prayers. Funeral arrangements and memorial plans had not yet been announced.
