The widow of a US airman killed during America's ongoing conflict with Iran says she was initially told her family would be denied combat-related benefits because the Pentagon, under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, does not formally classify the operation as a "war". Libby Klinner said an officer supporting her after her husband's death cited that classification when explaining why hazard pay and combat-related tax breaks were excluded from his final paycheck, prompting her to speak out publicly. The case has drawn attention to how the administration's reluctance to use the word "war" for the conflict is affecting practical entitlements for bereaved military families.

Major Alex Klinner, 33, died on 12 March when a KC-135 refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during operations supporting the campaign against Iran, one of six crew members killed; he left behind a wife and three young children. After Klinner's story spread, the Air Force said it had miscalculated the benefits and confirmed combat pay and tax exclusions were in fact included, acknowledging on Thursday that it had given her inaccurate information. Vice President JD Vance, pressed on the case at a White House briefing, promised the family would receive everything it was entitled to, while separately disputing that the conflict amounted to a "war". The war has now continued for more than six months and has claimed the lives of 18 American service members.