US troops based in Germany among four killed in Iran war

President Donald Trump will attend a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East. The fallen troops died in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan and Iraq. Eighteen American service members have been killed since the U.S. launched the war in Iran on Feb. 28.

The casualties have a direct connection to Europe's military footprint. Two of the deceased, Isabella Gonzales and Angel S. Rampersad, were assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. Their deaths highlight the integration of U.S. forces stationed on European soil into the Middle Eastern conflict.

Trump suggested that a failure by unnamed partner forces allowed the fatal attack in Jordan to succeed. “When you let other people do your job with the United States — we let other people do the job — and sometimes it doesn’t work out so well,” Trump said on Tuesday. He did not specify who was responsible for protecting the forces.

The transfer occurs as an interim agreement to end the war falls apart, prolonging a conflict with direct implications for global energy markets. The U.S. has launched multiple retaliatory strikes, with Trump stating the military is acting “in honor” of the fallen. “Those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Gonzales, 19, was a private, while Rampersad, 28, was a sergeant presumed dead after Friday's attacks. The other two service members are Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30. Both were assigned to units out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and will receive posthumous promotions along with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Wednesday's ceremony will be the third dignified transfer Trump has attended since the conflict began. During his first term, he described the ritual of receiving flag-draped transfer cases as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.