Fresh off his return from a deployment in Poland, Army Reserve Capt. Cody Khork was eager to find another assignment overseas with his fiancée.
asserted
Khork → find → fiancée
They found that opportunity with the Iowa-based 103rd Sustainment Command, where Khork would serve as deputy force protection officer for nine months at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
asserted
Khork → find → Kuwait
In February, the couple — along with most other service members stationed at the base — were moved off post in preparation for Operation Epic Fury.
asserted
couple → station → Fury
While his fiancée was moved out of the country, Khork was among a few dozen specialists moved to a tactical operations center at the Port of Shuaiba.
asserted
Khork → move → Shuaiba
On March 1, one day into
, an Iranian Shahed drone struck Khork's position, ."I just never thought it would happen," Jim Khork, Cody's father, told CBS News.
asserted
Khork → strike → News
Jim Khork, along with his wife, Stacey, sat down for an exclusive interview with CBS News to share more about their grief, but also their frustrations about what they consider is a lack of accountability for military shortcomings ahead of the deadly attack.
asserted
they → sit → attack
The Army confirmed to the Khorks and CBS News that its probe into the deadly Iranian attack was completed in early July,
.In a statement to CBS News
asserted
probe → confirm → News
, an Army spokesperson asked for "patience."
asserted
spokesperson → ask → patience
"The U.S. Army is committed to transparency and respecting the privacy of our Gold Star Families.
asserted
Army → commit → Families
Out of respect for the primary next of kin, who are currently being scheduled for briefs on the official findings of the completed investigation, we will not comment on specific details, individual accounts, or leaked portions of the report at this time," the statement said.
asserted
statement → schedule → time
The Khorks said Cody, as a force protection officer, had delivered repeated warnings to the unit's leader, Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes, about the risk that Iran would attack their location, which was roughly 65 miles from the border.
asserted
which → say → border
Multiple sources told CBS News that Army intelligence warned as early as January that Iran would attack the Port of Shuaiba in a potential war.
asserted
Iran → tell → war
On March 1, while members of the unit holed up in a bunker amid air sirens, Cody's family said many survivors of the attack and other officers on the ground told them Cody advised Barnes that the unit should remain there, even amid periods of calm.
asserted
unit → hole → calm
"The general kept asking Cody to call an 'all clear,'" his father told CBS News.
asserted
father → keep → News
"A captain can only tell the general 'no' so many times."
asserted
captain → tell → ?
Barnes did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while a spokeswoman for the 103rd Sustainment Command directed all questions to the Pentagon.
asserted
spokeswoman → respond → Pentagon
"My son died unnecessarily," Stacey Khork added.
asserted
Khork → die → ?
"Yes, he died for my country.
asserted
he → die → country
I hate to use the word murder because it's strong, but if a loved one of yours was murdered, our justice system is built to have accountability and to have atonement for that and for the grief of the family."
asserted
system → hate → family
U.S. Army Central and Third Army ordered the Pentagon probe "to determine the facts and circumstances" of the Iranian attack.
asserted
Central → order → attack
But before the review was underway, a CBS News investigation began shedding light on what several survivors of the attack described as "strategic failures" ahead of, during and after the strike.
asserted
survivors → begin → strike
One day after the deadly strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the Iranian drone as a "squirter" — suggesting that the drone managed to slip past the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait.
asserted
drone → describe → Kuwait
that "painting a picture that 'one squeaked through'" was not accurate.
asserted
one → paint → that
The soldier said the unit was "unprepared to provide any defense for itself.
asserted
unit → say → itself
It was not a fortified position.
asserted
It → fortify → ?
"More witnesses to the attack told CBS News that military leaders had seen intelligence showing Iran was targeting their position in Kuwait.
asserted
Iran → tell → Kuwait
Those reports sparked
from Senate Democrats.
asserted
reports → spark → Democrats
CBS News spoke with other survivors of the blast who detailed requests to leadership for more resources ahead of the strike.
asserted
who → speak → strike
Those requests focused on the number of medical personnel as well as the availability and accessibility of medical supplies.
asserted
requests → focus → supplies
"This was a failure," Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom said in
in May, adding he believed , another of the six soldiers killed, could have survived her wounds had there been a doctor, a fixed aid station or more than one ambulance at the post.
uncertain
another → say → post
The soldiers, according to witnesses, instead triaged themselves with makeshift bandages, braces and tourniquets.
uncertain
soldiers → accord → bandages
They commandeered civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to two local Kuwaiti hospitals.
asserted
They → commandeer → hospitals
The Pentagon has repeatedly pushed back on claims that the Army tried to downplay the incident.
uncertain
Army → push → incident
In a post on X in March addressing prior CBS News reporting on the strike, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said "every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level" and that "[t]he secure facility was with ."
asserted
facility → address → level
At the Khorks' home, the walls are filled with framed reminders of Cody's service, including a new, tailored military formal uniform he never had a chance to wear.
asserted
he → fill → chance
At Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, they visit at least once a month to think only of his sacrifice.
asserted
they → visit → sacrifice
"We can speak for our son now," Jim Khork said.
asserted
Khork → speak → son
"He can't do it but we can."
asserted
we → do → it
The Aporia
