‘It was chaos': US troops accuse Pentagon of cover-up

Survivors of the deadliest attack on US forces since 2021 have accused the Pentagon of misleading the public, claiming a fatal drone strike in Kuwait was preventable — and that officials downplayed critical failures on the ground.

Six American soldiers were killed in the early days of President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, after a drone struck a lightly protected outpost. Senior defence figures initially insisted the strike was a rare breach of strong defences. Those who lived through it say that account is fiction.

‘NOT ONE THAT SLIPPED THROUGH’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the drone as a “squirter” — military shorthand for a lone projectile evading robust systems. Survivors reject that outright.

“Painting a picture that one squeaked through is a falsehood,” one injured soldier said. “We were unprepared. It was not a fortified position.”

Troops say the base lacked even basic protection against aerial threats, contradicting official claims that “every possible measure” had been taken.

ALARMS, ALL-CLEAR — THEN IMPACT

Hours before the strike, missile alarms forced around 60 personnel into cover. When an all-clear sounded, helmets came off and routine resumed inside a flimsy wood-and-tin structure.

Moments later, the drone hit.

“Everything shook… your ears are ringing, vision blurry,” one survivor said. The aftermath was immediate and brutal: head wounds, shrapnel injuries, heavy bleeding across the unit.

A BASE EXPOSED — AND KNOWN TO BE AT RISK

Despite wider troop relocations away from Iranian reach, the 103rd Sustainment Command was sent closer to danger — to what soldiers describe as an outdated, exposed facility.

Some had already seen intelligence flagging it as a potential target. Defensive measures were minimal: low walls, no overhead cover, no drone defence capability.

“From a bunker standpoint, that’s about as weak as one gets,” one soldier said.

SELF-RESCUE UNDER FIRE

With no organised evacuation, injured troops triaged themselves. Bandages and tourniquets were improvised before they commandeered civilian vehicles to reach hospital.

“There was no line, no system — just fire and wounded everywhere,” another survivor said.

Some bodies, soldiers fear, may still remain unaccounted for in the wreckage.

ACCOUNTABILITY DEMANDED

Officials have held to their original line, but pressure is mounting. Survivors insist the strike was avoidable — and that misrepresentation risks repeating fatal errors.

“We’re not going to learn if we pretend these mistakes didn’t happen,” one said. “In my opinion, absolutely, yes — it was avoidable.”

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