Pentagon orders officials to stop calling Iran operations ‘Operation Epic Fury,’ report says

The Pentagon told US military leaders to stop referring to ongoing operations against Iran as “Operation Epic Fury,” according to CBS, which cited an August 7 email sent to the Air Force.

The email instructed officials to use the phrase “overseas operations in the CENTCOM AOR,” referring to the US Central Command Area of Responsibility. The guidance came months after the Pentagon says Operation Epic Fury had officially ended.

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overseas operations in the CENTCOM AOR

A Defense Department official told CBS that the operation concluded on May 5, following an April ceasefire. The official said later actions included Freedom of Navigation operations and strikes intended to further reduce threats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping, Gulf countries and US forces.

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Following the April ceasefire, the administration stated Operation Epic Fury had concluded on May 5. Subsequent activities have included Freedom of Navigation operations and strikes to further diminish threats posed by the IRGC to commercial shipping, Gulf countries, and American forces.

The Pentagon did not explain why it issued the terminology guidance in August. The timing has also focused attention on how US military casualties were recorded. In July, four soldiers killed in Jordan and Iraq were classified as “Overseas Operations Casualties,” separate from the 14 casualties listed under Operation Epic Fury.

The number of wounded personnel listed under Epic Fury also changed, falling from 482 to 417, while 207 additional wounded personnel appeared under overseas operations. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell attributed the earlier changes to “a temporary data disruption” on the Defense Casualty Analysis System website. A Pentagon official later said casualties were classified under overseas operations after Epic Fury concluded.

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a temporary data disruption