(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowans who are serving in the military — and their families — need support now more than ever. “Losing four soldiers from Iowa in the course of three months is a sobering reminder that our freedom is not free,” Reynolds said. Two Iowans serving in a Des Moines-based Army Reserve unit were killed in Kuwait Sunday and two Iowa National Guard soldiers were killed in Syria December 13th. In January, Reynolds visited Iowa National Guard units deployed in the Middle East.

“I had the opportunity to see firsthand how critical they are to the mission in the Middle East and almost at every single stop they were leading those missions and I heard over and over how personally committed that they are to it. They believe in the work that they’re doing. They stepped forward and they chose to serve even in challenging and dangerous situations and it is out responsibility to stand strong in support of each and every one of them.” Twenty-year-old Sergeant Declan Coady of West Des Moines and 45-year-old Major Jeffrey O’Brien of Waukee — killed in Kuwait this weekend — served in the Army Reserve’s 103rd Sustainment Command, which is based at Fort Des Moines. Reynolds has directed the Iowa National Guard to provide support to that federal unit.

“They are providing support for family services and survivor outreach,” Reynolds said, “and the Guard stands ready to provide additional help as needed.” Reynolds has talked with Sergeant Coady’s father as well as the commander of his Army Reserve unit. She notes fewer than one percent of Americans serve in the military — and about eight out of every 100-thousand Iowans are active military personnel. “The fact that we have so many families and individuals who have stepped up to serve in that capacity says a lot about who we are as Iowans,” Reynolds says.

Congressman Zach Nunn has disclosed nine soldiers from the Des Moines-based Army Reserve unit were injured during Sunday’s attack in Kuwait and all are receiving medical care at a U-S military base in Germany.