The widow of Maj. Alex Klinner, a U.S. Air Force officer who died in a KC-135 refueling aircraft crash in western Iraq, said it took a viral social media post to push the Pentagon into addressing her concerns about her husband's benefits and final pay. Klinner, 33, was among six crew members killed in the March crash, which was part of operations targeting Iran. Since the conflict began more than six months ago, 18 U.S. service members have died and 790 have been wounded. Libby Klinner, Maj. Klinner’s wife, said the Air Force contacted her this week to clarify that her husband’s final paycheck would include hazard pay and combat-related tax breaks. This came after she expressed frustration on social media when a military officer told her her husband was not eligible for those benefits because “we were not at war.” Libby argued that her husband died in a war, and she believed it was a matter of principle. Her post gained national attention and led Vice President JD Vance to promise to look into her case after being asked about it during a White House briefing. Vance said the administration wanted to ensure she received everything she was entitled to and expressed gratitude for her husband’s sacrifice. However, he avoided using the word “war” to describe U.S. operations in Iran, stating there was “no active shooting.” President Donald Trump called U.S. strikes “intermittent” and defended Vance’s comments, referring to the conflict as a “military conflict” rather than a war. The Trump administration had previously created a new category in the Pentagon’s casualty count system for those killed and wounded in renewed U.S.-Iran fighting, as the original operation name, “Operation Epic Fury,” had ended. Since July 7, U.S. casualties in the Middle East have been tallied under “Overseas Operations.” The Air Force later acknowledged providing inaccurate information initially and clarified that her husband’s paycheck had included combat-related hazard pay and tax breaks. Combat pay, $225 per month, is not based on a formal war declaration but on being in an area with “grave danger of physical injury” or being “killed, injured, or wounded by a hostile fire event.” Klinner’s final paycheck would have included half that amount since troops are paid twice per month.