Pentagon change appears to make it harder to tally military deaths and injuries

The Pentagon has made changes to the way it reports military casualties, potentially making it more difficult to track the number of deaths and injuries overseas. Casualties reported overseas since July 7 — when the U.S.

cease-fire with Iran collapsed and the conflict intensified — are no longer listed on the Pentagon website under “Operation Epic Fury,” where earlier casualties were listed. As of Sunday, the Defense Department appears to be tracking casualties in the “Defense Casualty Analysis System,” under a new category labeled “overseas operations casualties.”This means that to track all U.

S. casualties since the Iran war began February 28, the numbers from the two separate webpages must be added up. With the change, four fatalities that had been scrubbed from the website last week were added back but on a new webpage.

Those deaths include First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, Private Isabella Gonzales and Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton.open image in galleryPresident Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attend the dignified transfer of Sergeant Michael Swinton, who was killed during the Iran war.

The Pentagon is tracking the death of Swinton and three other U.S. service members in a separate category, since they died after Operation Epic Fury concluded (AFP/Getty)All four U.

S. service members were killed in the Middle East this month amid an escalation in attacks between U.S.

and Iranian forces. The change also raised the number of those wounded to 142 more military members than were previously reported by the Pentagon since July 7. The official number of U.

S. soldiers wounded since July 7 is now listed as 207, making the total 624 since the war began. The total number of soldiers killed is 18, according to the list.

The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment on the changes. In a statement to The New York Times, a Pentagon spokesperson said that “since Operation Epic Fury has concluded, the department classifies casualties as overseas operations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.” The U.

S. and Israeli-led Operation Epic Fury, which aimed to destroy Iranian ballistic missiles and defense infrastructure in Iran, concluded May 5. open image in galleryThe Pentagon is now tracking casualties from the war with Iran on two separate webpages, one from Operation Epic Fury and one labeled ‘overseas operation casualties’ (Getty)CENTCOM, or Central Command, is responsible for operations taking place in the Middle East.

A Pentagon spokesperson told the Times the department had nothing further to say on the changes. Last week, the Times reported that the Pentagon had lowered the number of service members killed in the Iran war from 18 to 14, prompting outrage among veterans, lawmakers and military families. The change was made because the four service members who were recently killed in Jordan and Iraq died after the cease-fire had been reached between the U.

S. and Iran in April, military sources told the newspaper. After the category “overseas operations” was added, the four deaths were registered there with a note reading: “Overseas operations casualties starting July 7, 2026.”

Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez attributed the change to “temporary data disruptions” on the website last Thursday. Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments