Survivors of Kuwait drone strike challenge Pentagon account, say post was not fortified
Soldiers who survived a March 1 Iranian drone strike at a Kuwaiti port facility that killed six U.S. service members have publicly disputed the Pentagon’s account, saying their unit was left dangerously exposed rather than protected inside a fortified position.
The blast, which also wounded more than 20, was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops since 2021. In interviews, members of the Army’s 103rd Sustainment Command described conditions on the ground and rejected Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s characterization of the drone as a “squirter” that slipped through defenses at a fortified site inside Kuwait.
One injured soldier said portraying the incident as a single drone “squeaking through” was false, asserting the unit was unprepared to provide any defense for itself and that it was not a fortified position. The soldiers spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing strict media restrictions.
Even as they criticized the security posture, the soldiers emphasized how quickly troops inside the charred, splintered compound moved to save lives, improvising under fire to treat grievous wounds. They said nothing about the security environment or leadership decisions diminishes the sacrifice of those killed and the actions of those who rushed to help.
According to their accounts, alarms earlier that morning sent roughly 60 troops into a cement bunker as a ballistic missile flew overhead. Around 9:15 a.m., an all‑clear sounded. Personnel removed their helmets and returned to a wood‑and‑tin workspace about the width of three trailers, where they were coordinating the movement of equipment, munitions and personnel across the Middle East.
About 30 minutes later, a blast tore through the building. One soldier recalled ears ringing, vision blurring and dust and smoke filling the air, with head wounds, heavy bleeding and shrapnel injuries across arms, legs and abdomens. Images from the aftermath show smoke billowing from the structure and fires smoldering.
The soldiers said that about a week before the launch of Operation Epic Fury, most American soldiers and airmen in Kuwait were shifted to positions in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, farther from Iranian missile range, with instructions to pack for 30 days and leave behind most personal gear, including military‑issued computers—an effort described as getting “off the X,” or away from the danger zone.
But several dozen members of the 103rd received different orders: pack up everything and relocate to the Port of Shuaiba, a smaller outpost off Kuwait’s southern coast. They described the tactical operations center there as similar to structures common in Iraq and Afghanistan before the rise of drone warfare, with steel‑reinforced concrete T‑walls ringing the building.
These first public eyewitness accounts, along with descriptions of the scene, offer a detailed picture of what unfolded at the thinly fortified port facility. They also stand in sharp contrast to the Pentagon’s initial characterization, even as the soldiers stressed their pride in the unit’s response and the lives they believe were saved by quick, resourceful action.