For weeks, the Pentagon has refused to disclose the findings from the Army’s investigation into the deadliest attack against U.S. troops during the Iran War. Now, a key Senate Democrat is calling on military leaders to release the more than 350-page report stemming from the probe.
“I now request you immediately release the findings of that investigation publicly and provide Congress with a copy of the full investigation, all underlying documentation, and any additional classified review of the attack,” Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin wrote to the head of U.S. Central Command in a letter obtained by CBS News.
Six Americans were killed and dozens more were injured in the March 1 strike at a U.S. command post in Kuwait, one of several U.S.-allied countries in the Persian Gulf region that was targeted by intense Iranian missile and drone attacks after the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury.
In July, the Pentagon completed a monthslong review of the incident, and Army leaders briefed families of the fallen soldiers on their findings. Sources familiar with the briefing said military officials described the probe’s findings, but did not assign blame or comment on any decision-making mistakes.
Several soldiers told CBS News they hoped the investigation would include a performance review of the commanders of the Iowa-based 103rd Sustainment Command, whom they blamed for ordering the troops to deploy to the Kuwait command post weeks before Operation Epic Fury, despite what many of the soldiers believed were known concerns.
A Defense Department spokesperson did not respond to a request about when the Pentagon intended to release the report.
Even before the Army’s probe was underway, a CBS News investigation began shedding light on what several survivors of the attack described as “strategic failures” ahead of, during and after the strike.
One day after the deadly strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the Iranian drone as a “squirter” — suggesting that the drone had managed to slip past the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait.
In April, one of the injured soldiers told CBS News that “painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood.” The soldier said the unit was “unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”
Other witnesses to the attack said there were multiple warnings related to force protection ahead of the unit’s February move to the Port of Shuaiba position. Soldiers later told CBS News that military leaders had seen intelligence showing Iran was targeting their position in Kuwait. Those reports sparked an investigation from Senate Democrats.
Wounded soldiers also told CBS News that military leaders ignored requests for additional medical supplies ahead of the attack, and they accused the Pentagon of downplaying their injuries in the aftermath. The Defense Department previously denied those claims.
In her letter, Sen. Baldwin requested that CENTCOM provide “an explanation on why U.S. military medical care was not immediately available to soldiers.”