The Pentagon instructed US military personnel to stop referring to ongoing operations against Iran as “Operation Epic Fury” in August, CBS reported on Thursday as they cited an email sent to the US Air Force.
According to the email, sent which was sent on August 7, military leaders were instructed to refer to the conflict as “overseas operations in the CENTCOM AOR [US Central Command Area of Responsibility],” as per CBS.
In response to CBS questioning, the Pentagon stated that Operation Epic Fury had officially ended several months ago, on May 5, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that the operation had concluded.
“Following the April ceasefire, the administration stated Operation Epic Fury had concluded on May 5,” a Defense Department official told CBS.
“Subsequent activities have included Freedom of Navigation operations and strikes to further diminish threats posed by the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] to commercial shipping, Gulf countries, and American forces.”
The confirmation as to the concluding date of Operation Epic Fury raises questions regarding the status of American soldiers who were killed by Iranian attacks following May 5.
In July, the Pentagon designated four soldiers killed in Jordan and Iraq that month as “Overseas Operations Casualties,” separate from the other 14 casualties of Operation Epic Fury listed on its website.
The number of soldiers listed as wounded during Operation Epic Fury also shifted during that time, with 482 soldiers reduced to 417, and an additional 207 soldiers listed as wounded in “Overseas Operations.”
At the time, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell blamed the soldiers’ temporary absence on a “a temporary data disruption” on the website in a post on X/Twitter.
“The Department of War is aware of temporary data disruptions on the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) website,” he stated. “These site anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the Military Services.”
CBS contacted a Pentagon official after the recent confirmation that Operation Epic Fury concluded in May. The official said that “Since Operation Epic Fury has concluded, the Department classifies casualties as overseas operations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.”
However, as of Friday, the Defense Department’s website continues to list five soldiers wounded in June and one soldier killed in July as casualties of Operation Epic Fury.
