Members of Bahrain High School’s Class of 2026 participate in a graduation ceremony in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 28, 2026. The graduating class included more than 40 seniors. Six attended the in-person ceremony in Germany after students evacuated from Bahrain to locations around the world because of orders tied to Operation Epic Fury. (DODEA/Facebook)
This story was updated June 2, 2026, 12:55 p.m. ET
No final decision has been made on whether to reopen schools this fall at a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, the head of the Department of Defense Education Activity said after earlier telling parents that their children would not return for the upcoming school year.
DODEA Director Paul Craft told families in an email Monday that Bahrain schools would remain closed in August, a decision that raised questions about the future footprint of one of the largest U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
In a Tuesday email, Craft said the department is still considering its options.
“This message laid out just one of several potential courses of action for our DoWEA schools in Bahrain,” Craft wrote Tuesday, referring to DODEA’s alternate name as the Department of War Education Activity. “No decision has yet been made. Our priority was — and remains — the safety, wellbeing, and educational success of our military-connected children.”
Craft said the department is currently considering three options, including opening the schools in August 2026, January 2027 or August 2027.
“This decision will be made over the course of the next few weeks based on a threat assessment, readiness, and operating conditions,” he wrote in the Tuesday email.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon’s school system did not comment on the email.
Bahrain, a small island nation in the Persian Gulf, is home to Naval Support Activity Bahrain and hosts the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the 5th Fleet. Typically, the base supports some 8,300 service members, civilians and their families, but the majority were forced to evacuate shortly after the start of Operation Epic Fury in February.
The Pentagon supports two schools for military-connected students on the island, from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
Graduates from Bahrain High School’s Class of 2026 take part in a commencement ceremony in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on May 28, 2026. More than 40 students made up the graduating class. Six were able to attend the ceremony in Germany after evacuation orders connected to Operation Epic Fury scattered students to locations around the world. (DODEA/Facebook)
Since the evacuation, the status of the DODEA schools has been viewed as a possible indicator of the Pentagon’s plans for returning military families to Bahrain and restoring the broader U.S. presence that existed before the war.
Thousands of U.S. military-linked evacuees remain in limbo months after fleeing Bahrain, with many still unsure when they may be able to return, retrieve their belongings or resume their previous lives. As they wait out the war in temporary safe havens across the U.S. and in Europe, many have expressed a desire to return to Bahrain.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, said last month that he wants families to return as soon as possible. But when that may happen remains unclear.
Despite significant repair work across parts of the island, questions remain about the long-term security situation and the extent to which Bahrain has recovered from the war.
The U.S. base sustained significant damage from early Iranian drone and missile attacks, including hits to NAVCENT headquarters, as well as multiple warehouses and satellite dishes on base. Damage also extended to the barracks and galley, Stars and Stripes previously reported.
U.S. defense officials throughout the war have declined to comment on battle damage assessments, but the hits to the base, combined with the ongoing tension between the U.S. and Iran, have added to the uncertainty for evacuees.
While the majority of evacuees chose safe havens in the U.S., others were given special authorization to shelter in Kaiserslautern, Germany, home to the largest overseas military community.
Those families are now preparing to move for a second time after the Pentagon recently said they would be required to relocate to the U.S. by the end of June.
Commenting on the earlier announcement that the Bahrain schools would not reopen this fall, Eric Alter, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the decision signals that the situation in Bahrain will not return to normal anytime soon.
In the absence of families, Alter said he could envision a more operational focus for the U.S. military in Bahrain, with more troop rotations and a smaller footprint.
Alter said many Gulf countries are watching closely to see how the U.S. will change its force posture in the region.
“It certainly sends a message, not only to Bahrain, but also to all the other countries,” Alter said of the decision to close the schools. “It also sends a message to Tehran, because it means that Washington doesn’t think that the risk assessment they have is going to diminish anytime soon.”
Intermittent fighting between the U.S. and Iran has strained the fragile ceasefire deal that was reached in April and threatened the ongoing negotiations to reach a permanent end the to the conflict.
Iranian negotiators on Monday said they had cut off talks with the U.S. in response to Israel’s efforts to drive out the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.
President Donald Trump later said on social media that he had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who agreed to scale back the fighting and turn back troops heading to the capital city of Beirut.
Netanyahu appeared to contradict Trump’s statement in a subsequent post to X, saying that his stance remains unchanged and that Israeli Defense Forces will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.
