The last month has been a comparatively quiet period in the Iran War, with The Wall Street Journal recently describing the last few weeks as occupying a “liminal space between war and peace.”
However, that period has nevertheless taken a toll on United States service members.
According to a report Monday by Task & Purpose, which cited an update to the Defense Casualty Analysis System, nine Marines and 29 sailors were wounded in the month of September in “overseas operations,” as part of their support of the Iran War.
That categorization, Task & Purpose reported, has been in use since early July, when the Pentagon declared that Operation Epic Fury, the initial Iran War, had “concluded.” A total of 50 sailors have been injured since that change on July 7.
The Total Figures
The report added that, in total, 443 service members had been wounded in action between July 7 and the report on September 23, with 417 wounded during the period known as Operation Epic Fury. All 860 of those wounded, the report said, came as due to “hostile action.”
The majority of those wounded in the war have been in the Army, the report said.
NBC News reported Sunday that eight Marines had been injured in early September when a ship they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an Iranian cruise missile.
The Marines sustained smoke inhalation, as well as possible traumatic brain injuries.
The attack targeted a non-U.S. Navy ship, and the military did not announce it at the time.
A Non-Hostile Death
Last week, Task & Purpose reported that 37-year-old Capt. Bianca C. Wilkerson, of the Army, had died earlier this month due to a medical incident on a flight to Saudi Arabia.
Wilkerson was the 19th American service member to pass away while serving in, or in support of, the Iran military conflict. She is the eighth service member to lose their life in this war in a “non-hostile” manner. This includes the six airmen who died in a refueling tanker crash in March, and Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, an additional naval officer who died in a helicopter crash in July.
The Army said that Wilkerson received a posthumous promotion to major.
Are the Death Figures Accurate?
However, questions have been raised about whether the Pentagon is being honest about the casualty numbers it shares.
The Washington Post reported on September 18 that there have, in fact, been more military fatalities in the Iran War than the U.S. has disclosed. Six officials told the Post that the real number is 22, rather than the 18 that appeared at the time, although another source put the number at 23.
The Post story appeared before Wilkerson’s death was confirmed.
The difference may be a matter of semantics, as some of the deaths involve “U.S. personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities,” without necessarily being directly involved with the Iran war.
One official also told the Post that three U.S. contractors based in the region had also died since the start of combat operations with Iran.
The Post reported that details are unknown about the identities of the undisclosed deaths, and how, when, and where they died.
The report also said that the war, through early September, had cost $43.6 billion, including $28 billion in munitions.
Reaction From Congress
Back in late July, a group of more than a dozen Democratic members of Congress, all of them military veterans, demanded that the Trump Administration release “accurate information” about military injuries and deaths. Those same members introduced legislation last week to do so, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), also a veteran, introduced similar legislation in the Senate. Democratic senators have also announced their intention to investigate casualty-reporting practices if they retake control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who lost a primary and is set to leave Congress after his current term, has introduced legislation to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the grounds that Hegseth had violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 in his prosecution of the Iran War. The Post described Massie’s resolution as a “long shot.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
