Eighteen service members have died in the Iran war, but a key military website now lists just 14 of them, due to what the Pentagon calls "temporary data disruption" that it plans to fix.
The four service
members not included in the data on the morning of July 24 are the same ones who President Donald Trump traveled to Dover, Delaware, to honor during a dignified transfer on July 22.
A separate Pentagon website, however, includes news releases announcing their deaths.
Just days before, USA TODAY accessed the fatality data and there were 18 deaths recorded, including the names and assignments of Pvt. Isabella Gonzalez and Lt. Tyler Feehan, who died in Jordan; and Sgt. Michael Swinton, who died in Iraq. These three troops, along with Sgt. Angel Rampersad, were brought for the dignified transfer that Trump attended on July 22.
The news comes amid increased scrutiny of how the Pentagon is tallying the human cost of the Iran war. Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said July 20 that nearly 100 service members had been injured during the conflict since July 7, but most had returned to full duty. The Pentagon's website said on July 24 that five service members were wounded in action in July.
Joel Valdez, acting press secretary for the Pentagon, issued a statement saying that the department was "aware of temporary data disruptions" related to the website. "These site anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the Military Services," he said.
Valdez criticized The New York Times, which broke the story, and said the Pentagon is "committed to ensuring the utmost accuracy of all casualty reporting."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why 4 Iran war troop deaths are no longer counted on Pentagon site
