The Department of Defense has updated its public casualty database to list four service members killed in Jordan and Iraq in July under the category of "Overseas Operations Casualties." This classification separates them from 14 other personnel whose deaths are currently recorded as casualties of Operation Epic Fury, the official Pentagon designation for the ongoing conflict with Iran. For a period last week, the four service members were included in the Operation Epic Fury count, but they were later removed, adjusting the total for that specific conflict from 18 down to 14.
The four individuals identified are 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton. While reports from The New York Times suggested these individuals were excluded from the primary war count because they died following an April ceasefire, this timeline is disputed by official records. President Trump notified Congress that the ceasefire had ended and military operations had resumed as of July 7, which occurred about a week before these four service members were killed.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell addressed the discrepancy in a statement posted to X, attributing the change to a "temporary data disruption" and "site errors on the Defense Casualty Analysis System." Parnell stated that these anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the relevant military services. He also criticized reporting by The New York Times, labeling their coverage of the database changes as a "completely fake story."
Confusion regarding casualty classification has persisted throughout the conflict. When the Pentagon initially announced the deaths of two service members killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan earlier this month, they were first categorized under Operation Inherent Resolve, the mission targeting ISIS. The Defense Department later amended those records to reflect "overseas operations."
Public information regarding injuries has also been slow to emerge. Although the Pentagon directed media inquiries about wounded troops to their website, the portal had not been updated for several days and failed to reflect recent fatalities. Official briefings on the conflict have not occurred since May, and officials have declined to comment on the specific categorization of the four recently deceased service members.
According to data confirmed by Sean Parnell, nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since July 7. Parnell noted that 96% of those injured have returned to duty, characterizing the majority of these cases as "minor concussions," which can nonetheless involve varying degrees of traumatic brain injury. As of Sunday, the Pentagon's website reported 417 service members wounded in the war with Iran, a decrease from the 482 listed earlier in the week, with 207 now categorized under general Overseas Operations.
