The Pentagon last week announced the death of a US Army soldier killed while supporting Operation Epic Fury before a medical examiner had positively identified them. Former military spokespeople said that it was an unusual and awkwardly phrased departure from standard procedures.
In a press release titled, “DOW Identifies An Army Believed to Be Casualty,” the Department of Defense announced “the believed to be death” of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, an Army reservist who died during an Iranian strike that also killed five other troops in Kuwait.
According to the release, Marzan, a soldier with the 103rd Sustainment Command, “was at the scene of the incident on March 1, 2026, and is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene. Positive identification of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner.”
A defense official told Business Insider a medical examiner has since confirmed Marzan’s identity.
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Prematurely announcing a death risks misidentification, which can erode public trust if corrections are later required, two former military spokespeople told Business Insider. They also said attention to detail and clarity in these communications shows respect.
“When a service member is killed in combat, they deserve better than this,” Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel who worked in public affairs during the Global War on Terror, wrote in a post to LinkedIn.
He told Business Insider separately that “it’s a simple matter of respect to make sure that everything is accurate.”
US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, has reported seven US service members killed in action in the Iran war that began in late February. The fatal strike in Kuwait came as Iranian forces launched missiles into countries across the region. Marzan is the only service member in this conflict so far who has been described as “believed to be” dead.
Asked about the statement, the Office of the Secretary of Defense referred Business Insider to the Army, saying, “DOW announces, all follow-on questions go to the Army.” The Army did not provide comment to Business Insider.
Why the Pentagon statement was unusual
Typically, the military refers to a service member whose death has not yet been confirmed as “DUSTWUN,” short for “duty status — whereabouts unknown,” a retired Army spokesman who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan told Business Insider. The term is used when a service member’s absence is involuntary and their status cannot yet be confirmed.
Announcing a death before positive identification by a medical examiner marks a break from norms that governed casualty reporting over two previous decades of war, the former spokesman said. The DUSTWUN designation is intended for situations where ongoing rescue efforts prevent an immediate determination, though recovery of remains is not always required to declare a service member deceased, according to military policies outlining casualty procedures.
“We had thousands of casualties throughout the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria,” said the retired Army official. “I don’t recall ever announcing someone as ‘believed to be a casualty.'”
Few communications are as important or sensitive as announcing a casualty, he said, describing a somber process honed after more than 7,000 US service member deaths during the Global War on Terror, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project.
Plenzler, the former Marine public affairs officer, told Business Insider that all communications related to sensitive topics, including casualties, were generally examined by at least three people before publication because of the heavy impact on public trust.
In his LinkedIn post, he recalled seeing “people removed from leadership positions for getting names incorrect during memorial services.”
While the former Army spokesman expressed disappointment in what they characterized as an awkwardly written DoD announcement, he also noted that many of the personnel who oversaw casualty communications during the height of the previous wars in the Middle East have since left the service, leaving newer troops to manage hard notifications and public messaging.
“We have been sort of out of this business now for several years,” he said.
Marzan, 54, lived in Sacramento and was assigned to an Iowa-based logistics unit. Business Insider could not reach a Marzan family member for comment.
Communicating casualty updates comes with a learning curve, the former Army spokesman said. The details of this release are unclear, but he said he hopes “they’ve learned a lesson from this.”
The announcement comes amid broader shifts in how the military communicates during fast-moving combat operations, including increased reliance on social media updates from combatant commands and the Pentagon. Communications once known for staid military-speak now often feature videos of US missile strikes or jets taking off, strong wartime rhetoric, or posts debunking Iranian “bogus claims.”
