Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, of White Bear Lake, among soldiers killed amid Iran strikes

A soldier from Minnesota was among those killed in last weekend’s military strikes in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The agency reported Tuesday that Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, was killed Sunday in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, during an unmanned aircraft system attack.

Amor was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa. She enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist, then transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006. She was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.

Amor was days away from returning home to U.S.

Amor was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children.
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. AmorU.S. Army Reserve
“She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said from their Minnesota home on Tuesday. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”

A week before the drone attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building that had no defenses, Joey Amor said.

“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.

He last spoke to her about two hours before she was killed. He said she was working long shifts and they had been messaging about her tripping and falling the night before.

“She just never responded in the morning,” he said.

The couple’s children are a senior in high school and a fourth-grader.

Amor was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa. She enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist, then transferred to the Army Reserve in 2006. She was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
This undated photo provided by Joey Amor shows Nicole Amor, left, and Joey Amor smiling for a photo. (Joey Amor via AP)AP
The U.S. Army Reserve says that throughout her service, Amor has been honored with several awards and decorations, including the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Medal, and Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Amor “answered the call to serve and gave her life in service to our state and nation.”

“Minnesotans are wrapping our arms around her loved ones,” Walz added.

Among the other fatalities confirmed by the department was 20-year-old Sgt. Declan J. Coady of West Des Moines.

At least six Americans were killed in a strike on a tactical operations center in Kuwait. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the deadly strike was caused by an Iranian weapon that made it through both air defenses and the operations center’s fortifications.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.

“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.

Three officials also told CBS News, speaking under condition of anonymity, that prior to the attack there had been discussions on the ground about whether the tactical operations center in question should not have been used, as it concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn’t easily defended.

The incident remains under investigation.