Four Democratic senators have opened an investigation into whether U.S. forces at a command post in Kuwait were left insufficiently protected before an Iranian drone attack on March 1 that killed six American service members and wounded more than 20.
The inquiry follows reporting in which soldiers stationed at the base said the location was a known potential target for Iranian drones and that they were left exposed. Members of the targeted unit, speaking publicly for the first time earlier this month, provided detailed accounts of the strike, which came on the first day of a conflict that has since become a monthslong confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly questioned Pentagon preparations and asked whether the administration “failed to protect Americans in the region from Iranian retaliation.” At a press conference the day after the strike, Hegseth described the drone as a “squirter” that “happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these were powerful weapons.”
Survivors from the Army’s 103rd Sustainment Command disputed that description. “Painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” one injured soldier told reporters. “I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”
The tactical operations center resembled structures commonly used in Iraq and Afghanistan: tin buildings ringed by steel-reinforced concrete barriers, known as T-walls. Those barriers are designed to shield against mortar and rocket blasts but offer limited protection from aerial attacks. Video of the strike’s aftermath shows smoke and fires, and survivors described severe shrapnel wounds and traumatic head injuries among the casualties.
The senators are requesting documents and information about risk assessments conducted for the Kuwaiti site before the start of the war. One soldier said he had seen intelligence that listed the post as a potential Iranian target.
Warren said in a statement that Hegseth “sent our troops to fight in Iran, refused to take basic steps to protect them, and then tried to cover up his failures when service members died. Hegseth’s leadership has been one betrayal after another — he must be held accountable.”
The Defense Department declined to comment, citing an active investigation. Assistant Secretary of Defense Sean Parnell posted on X that “every possible measure has been taken to safeguard our troops — at every level.” Hegseth is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday after appearing before a House panel Wednesday.