Several surviving Army soldiers involved in the deadliest strike on U.S. forces during the Iran war have pushed back on the Pentagon’s statements that the facility was well prepared for such an attack.
It was only hours into the conflict when an Iranian drone hit the tactical operation center in Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait, killing six Americans and injuring more than 20 others. It was one of only two Iranian attacks that were fatal for the American armed forces.
A soldier injured in the strike told CBS News, when asked to describe the degree of fortification, “I mean, I would put it in the none category. From a drone defense capability … none,” while another soldier said they saw intelligence showing the post was on a list of possible Iranian targets.
The Kuwaiti operational center had T-walls, which are steel-reinforced concrete barriers, surrounding it, but did not have aerial protection. These barriers, which were frequently used during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are designed to shield service members from the blast of a mortar or rocket.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said during a March 2 briefing, “You have air defenses, and the lot’s coming in, and you hit most of it. And we absolutely do. We have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while, you might have one. Unfortunately, we call it a squirter that, that makes its way through. And in that particular case, it happened to hit a — a tactical operation center. That was — that was fortified. But these are powerful weapons.”
Another injured troop told the outlet, responding directly to Hegseth’s characterization, said that, “Painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” adding, “I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”
The six service members killed were reservists from the 103rd Sustainment Command: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20; Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54.
Separately, in an interview with KSTP, a Minnesota news outlet, Sgt. 1st Class Cory Hicks, 37, said after the drone impacted the facility, he “kinda looked around and I saw everything was just smoke and fire and crazy and chaos.”
“Seeing the nose of that drone pop through, and as soon as it did, I knew what it was,” he said. “It was either a missile or a drone, so I turned to my right, and that’s when it blew up and just blew the whole building apart.”
Hicks’s wife, Shanyn Hicks, also a reservist, was informed that her husband had been injured in the attack by a friend, and she said, “I remember just falling to my knees and just hyperventilating. I knew they were all together, so it’s like not having all the information was terrifying.”
On March 3, top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell pushed back on reports that the facility lacked adequate defenses, saying, “Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level.… The secure facility was fortified with 6-foot walls.”
“The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses,” Parnell added. “We’ve moved a significant number of our troops off the X and will always protect our bases and people from a significantly weakened Iran.”
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the latest news reports, citing the investigation into the deadly strike, which is the deadliest attack on American forces since the Abbey Gate bombing in August 2021 in Afghanistan, which killed 13 troops.
The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire beginning on Tuesday, pending Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran has shut down since the conflict began, causing oil and gas prices to skyrocket. But the 50,000 American service members in the region will remain there for the time being as the world waits to see if the two countries can come to a deal that formalizes an end to the war.
HOW IRAN HAS CHANGED FROM THE START OF THE WAR UNTIL THE CEASEFIRE
As of April 8, 381 U.S. service members have been injured during the war, while 344 of them have returned to duty, CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told the Washington Examiner. Three service members fit the military’s “severely wounded” designation.
In addition to the six troops killed in the Kuwait attack, another service member died from wounds sustained in a strike on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, while six others died in a non-combat KC-135 crash in Iraq.
