For the second time in just a few months, Iowa is mourning warriors who gave their lives in service to this country.
Sergeant Declan Coady of West Des Moines and Major Jeffrey O’Brien of Waukee were killed in Kuwait while serving with the 103rd Sustainment Command, the Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines. Six American servicemembers were killed in the strike, and nine more were wounded.
Sergeant Coady was just 20 years old — one of the youngest in his unit and, by every account, one of the very best. He served as an IT specialist with the Army Reserve while pursuing a cybersecurity degree online from Kuwait. Major O’Brien was a husband, a father, and a dedicated leader who spent decades serving his country — always finding ways to stay present for his family, even from 7,000 miles away.
As a combat veteran and part of a military family, Kelly and I understand the quiet weight military families carry while their loved ones are deployed. This week, that burden fell heavily on Iowa.
On Saturday, I stood with the Coady and O’Brien families at Dover Air Force Base as their loved ones were brought home. There are no words that truly capture that moment — only the quiet understanding that freedom is never free, and that the families who bear that cost carry a burden the rest of us can only strive to honor.
In moments like this, grief deepens our resolve. We honor Declan and Jeffrey. We pray for the nine servicemembers recovering from their wounds. And we stand beside every military family carrying the weight of this loss.
Tonight at Walter Reed Hospital, we stood with our 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command wounded warriors who just returned home from Kuwait, making sure they have the care and support they’ve earned.
Iowa will remember their sacrifice. And we will continue to uphold our responsibility to the families they leave behind and to every servicemember still standing the watch.
