Honoring the Sacrifice of Troops in War Act of 2026

This bill establishes a strong Sense of Congress that every member of the Armed Forces wounded or killed in hostilities deserves to be counted, and the government owes a complete and honest accounting of these casualties. It asserts that accurate casualty statistics are crucial for executive branch accountability and for Congress's constitutional powers, prohibiting any administrative reclassification or assertion of ceased hostilities from obscuring the human cost of war or denying due benefits. The legislation amends Title 10, United States Code, to prevent the Secretary of Defense from redesignating or reclassifying an ongoing contingency operation if military actions continue against the same enemy, even during periods of ceasefire or diplomatic negotiation. It further mandates the Department of Defense to publish and attribute casualty statistics to specific military operations, prohibiting manipulative reclassification of casualties or resetting cumulative counts based on administrative changes or assertions that hostilities have ceased. Furthermore, the bill prohibits altering deployment-related benefit eligibility for military and civilian personnel solely due to administrative redesignation or reclassification of ongoing contingency operations. Benefits, awards, and other entitlements must continue to be calculated as if the original operation designation remained in effect, with exceptions only for statutory requirements or substantive changes in operational conditions. Finally, the Act specifically requires the restoration of all casualty records and benefits for military and civilian personnel related to "Operation Epic Fury" (defined as U.S. military activities against Iran) that were modified between February 28, 2026, and the bill's enactment. The Secretary of Defense must notify affected individuals of these restorations within 30 days of enactment.