Kuwait Drone Attack Survivors Say Pentagon Misled on Base Defenses

U.S. Army soldiers who survived the March 1, 2026 Iranian drone strike at Kuwait’s Port of Shuaiba, which killed six troops and wounded more than 20, say the Pentagon’s public account badly misrepresents what happened and how exposed they were. In detailed interviews with CBS News, members of the 103rd Sustainment Command dispute Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s description of the drone as a lone 'squirter' that slipped through a 'fortified' defense, calling that portrayal a 'falsehood' and insisting their wood‑and‑tin operations building at the port was 'not a fortified position' and lacked meaningful protection. They recount being ordered to the small port facility even as most U.S. forces in Kuwait were pulled back out of missile range before Operation Epic Fury, describe an earlier missile‑warning that sent them briefly to a bunker before an all‑clear at about 9:15 a.m., and then a direct drone hit roughly 30 minutes later that left the compound charred and filled with shrapnel‑wounded, bleeding soldiers. Their accounts, backed by exclusive photos and video of the aftermath, praise the quick, improvised rescue work of front‑line troops but raise pointed questions about higher‑level force‑protection decisions and whether senior leaders are downplaying operational failures in public briefings. Online, the story is intensifying veteran and military‑family anger over perceived Pentagon spin in the Iran war and fueling calls for independent inquiries into how and why these particular troops were left 'on the X' inside Iran’s strike envelope.