The six US service members who were killed by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait were inside a makeshift command center with no overhead protection that had come under question before the war began, according to a new report.
The troops were at a tactical operations center by Shuaiba port when Operation Epic Fury began over the weekend — but their position reportedly took a direct hit.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the tactical operations center “was fortified.”
Military officials told CBS News reported that but the structure the soldiers were in was a triple-wide trailer with no strong protection from an overhead attack.
“We basically had no drone defeat capability,” one source said told the outlet — noting that troops requested more air defense systems but they did not arrive in time.
The Pentagon on Tuesday identified four of the six dead service members. All four were Army soldiers assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa.
They are:
- Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
- Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
- Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
- Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
At least 18 service members were also been left seriously wounded as a result of the war with Iran.
The trailer’s only fortifications were 12-foot-tall T-walls, a steel-reinforced concrete barrier designed to protect military personnel from explosions and shrapnel, CBS reported.
While the walls could’ve protected the soldiers from a nearby explosion, they would be useless to defend against a drone dive-bombing from above, officials told the outlet.
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While such structures are not uncommon at American military bases, the facility in Kuwait had been the subject of recent discussions given that it concentrated so many soldiers in a location that was not as well defended as other positions, three officials told CBS.
The Shuaiba port also lacked American counter-rocket, artillery and mortar systems, with the defense of the base left to Kuwait’s Patriot missile and other interceptors nearby, two other sources added.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell denied CBS’s reporting, claiming it was “not true.”
” Every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level,” Parnell wrote on X. “The Department is prepared for this engagement and has hardened our defenses.
“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,” he added.
“We will continue fighting in a way that honors our six fallen: no apologies, no hesitation. Epic fury for them and for every American lost at the hands of Iranian radicals.”
The Pentagon directed The Post to Parnell’s post on X when asked to comment on the report.
