In August, U.S. military personnel were instructed to stop using the term "Operation Epic Fury" when referring to ongoing military actions in Iran. This directive came nearly three months after the Trump administration claimed the operation had officially ended. According to an Air Force email obtained by CBS News, the guidance was issued by the Pentagon’s public affairs office, led by Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman. The email, dated August 7, told public affairs officers to use more general language, such as "overseas operations in the [U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility]." This guidance applied not only to the Air Force but also to the entire Defense Department, being disseminated in August and September. The Pentagon stated that Operation Epic Fury officially concluded on May 5, the same day then-Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the White House that the operation had ended and that the U.S. was now focusing on "Project Freedom." Four days earlier, President Donald Trump told Congress that "hostilities" had "terminated." However, for months before that, the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command had not disclosed an official end date for the operation. Since May 5, the U.S. and Iran have continued to exchange fire intermittently, with periods of reduced conflict, including during a ceasefire that began in early April. The May 5 date has raised questions about how the Pentagon classifies service members who were injured or killed after the operation was declared over, and why guidance on naming ongoing operations against Iran came months after the operation's supposed end. Following the April ceasefire, the administration stated that Operation Epic Fury had concluded on May 5. Subsequent actions included "Freedom of Navigation" operations and strikes aimed at reducing threats posed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to commercial shipping and U.S. forces in the region. Named military operations often help track the scope and duration of U.S. involvement abroad and determine eligibility for military awards. However, only Rubio, a Trump administration official, publicly stated that Operation Epic Fury had officially ended, though he did not specify the date. On the same day as Rubio’s statement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed reporters, distinguishing Epic Fury from the new Project Freedom, which he described as a defensive mission to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. He referred to Epic Fury in the past tense but did not explicitly declare it over. Trump announced on May 5 that Project Freedom would be paused temporarily to allow negotiations with Iran, but the status of the initiative remains unclear. The May 5 date did not mark the end of the broader conflict with Iran, as American forces continue to carry out missions related to the conflict that began six months earlier with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. In July, Trump formally notified Congress that "military action" against Iran had restarted, following the collapse of the April ceasefire. Since then, the U.S. has conducted periodic strikes against Iran, including two rounds this week that resulted in Iranian counterattacks. The Pentagon’s acknowledgment of May 5 as the end date of Operation Epic Fury raises questions about why its public affairs office issued instructions in early August telling senior leaders not to use the term "Operation Epic Fury" when discussing ongoing military operations against Iran, which the military now says had ended months earlier. The Pentagon did not comment on the reasoning behind the guidance. In July, the Defense Department’s website, which tracks military casualties, initially classified four service members killed in July as having died in Operation Epic Fury, even though the operation was declared over two months earlier. These individuals were later moved to a new category, "overseas operations," reducing the number of those killed in Epic Fury from 18 to 14. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell attributed the error to a "temporary data disruption," stating that the issue was being resolved. As of now, the Pentagon’s system still lists some service members as killed or wounded in Operation Epic Fury, despite the operation being declared over in May, and no end date is listed for the operation.