Overview
- Four senators opened a formal investigation and sent Hegseth a letter seeking documents and answers on troop safety during Operation Epic Fury.
- At the center is the March 1 Iranian drone strike on a U.S. post at Kuwait’s Port of Shuaiba that killed six service members and injured at least 20.
- Survivors said there were no warning sirens, troops had to triage wounds themselves, and they used civilian cars to rush the injured to local hospitals.
- Lawmakers cite reports that the site was a large trailer behind six-foot concrete walls, which block ground blasts but do little against drones, and they ask if requests for added defenses or early-warning fixes were denied.
- Hegseth says the Pentagon pushed every possible counter-drone system forward, while a January Pentagon review found many bases lacked such tools and training, highlighting broader vulnerabilities.