{"id":1684,"date":"2026-05-25T14:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2026-05-25T14:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:07:53","slug":"editorial-for-their-sacrifice-troops-deserve-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1684","title":{"rendered":"Editorial: For their sacrifice, troops deserve accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Major Cody Khork is home now, less than two hours away from his native Winter Haven and the tidy three-bedroom house he owned on the outskirts of Lakeland. Described as an ardent patriot by friends and family, Khork\u2019s military deployment as a U.S. Army reservist took him to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay, Poland and finally, at the age of 35, to Kuwait.<\/p>\n

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On the second day of the current U.S.-Israel attack on Iran, Khork was working at a makeshift operations center in the commercial Port Shuaiba when it was struck by an Iranian drone.<\/p>\n

There was no defense, not even a whine of a warning siren; the people inside had no chance to escape after the drone crashed through the thin metal roof of the structure and ignited the building from within with such force that the fortified walls peeled back. Six soldiers, including Khork, were killed and more than 30 others injured, officially counting as the first casualties of the war.<\/p>\n

On March 18, a charter plane flew his remains to Lakeland. From there, a funeral procession and day of solemn observances and tributes ended with his installation in Site 43, Section 607 of the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.<\/p>\n

They had no defense<\/h4>\n

In the aftermath of the devastating attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the drone that hit the port operations center as a \u201csquirter\u201d that somehow evaded fortifications and other protective measures. The reality was brutal and more simple: the building was surrounded on the ground with concrete barriers but completely unprotected from the air, despite years of directives to fortify against strikes from above. U.S. threat-detection systems were not equipped to recognize low-flying, slow-moving drones.<\/p>\n

According to multiple sources \u2014 including a report last week by CBS News, which included comments from multiple people who were on site \u2014 defense personnel had repeatedly expressed concerns that too many U.S. troops were unprotected against drone attacks because they were tough to detect. (In addition, current drone-defense guidelines call for taking them down with missiles that cost between $1 million and $2 million. Iran builds its Shahed drones from commerically available parts for no more than $50,000 and often releases them in swarms, forcing\u00a0 the U.S. to risk exhausting its missile stockpile if it\u2019s too aggressive about shooting them down.)<\/p>\n

Other outlets reported that the operations center was probably easily spotted by Iranian forces as a temporary hub of military activity. They also said that the Port Shuaiba site lacked the medical personnel or equipment to handle a mass-casualty event. Their concerns were dismissed, some of the soldiers who were there told CBS. Yet all those fears came true.<\/p>\n

The most harrowing comments came from Major Stephen Ramsbottom, who told CBS News that he believes at least one soldier \u201439-year-old Master Sergeant Nicole Amor of Minnesota \u2014 could have survived her wounds. After waiting for help that never arrived, Amor was put in a civilian van to get her to a hospital. \u201cShe fought the whole way and was trying to stay alive,\u201d Ramsbottom said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The final report is pending, but last week Pentagon officials were still spitting out scrambling denials instead of acknowledging the need for increased protection.<\/p>\n

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They deserved better<\/h4>\n

We have no doubt that Khork, Amor and the four others \u2014 Sergeant First Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Nebraska; Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of lowa; Major Jeffrey O\u2019Brien, 45, of Iowa and Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, 54, of California \u2014 understood that serving their country meant accepting the chance they might be called upon to give their lives.\u00a0 This is the burden every soldier, every sailor, every Marine, every airman bears when they enlist into the nation\u2019s all-volunteer military. This is why we commemorate one day each year to recall the centuries of sacrifice that have kept other Americans safe, the resolute courage of troops deployed abroad to fight against tyranny and defend this nation\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

But they and their fellow warriors deserve better. They deserve the arms and supplies that keep them as safe as possible. The idea that U.S. troops are inadequately defended against low-tech drone aggression strains the imagination.<\/p>\n

They deserve commanders who take precautions against clearly foreseeable threats and defense leadership who confess to errors instead of trying to bury them in piles of words.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

They deserve to be called up only in times of necessity, not just when cynical politicians deem their lives to be politically expendable.<\/p>\n

Seven more Americans have died, and hundreds have been injured, in the 81 days that followed the March 1 attacks. Yet there are still far too many reports that the troops sent to Iran lack the equipment and resources they need. Even worse, the military watchdog site Interceptor.com has printed convincing claims that the Pentagon is concealing the true numbers of serious injuries among those deployed to the region.<\/p>\n

On Memorial Day, think of Khork. Read more about him \u2014 about the whip-thin young man with glasses who laughed with his friends but was completely sincere in his desire to serve his country. Learn about the grieving\u00a0 fiancee and parents he left behind.<\/p>\n

Monday is a day to honor him and the others who have given their lives. But Tuesday, and beyond, it\u2019s appropriate to ask when, and how, and with what preparations this nation sends its sons and daughters to war.<\/p>\n

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Major Cody Khork is home now, less than two hours away from his native Winter Haven and the tidy three-bedroom house he owned on the outskirts of Lakeland. 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