Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leads a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on April 24, 2026. Four Democratic senators penned a letter to Hegseth this weekend questioning whether the Pentagon took proper steps to protect U.S. service members killed and injured in the Iran war. (Eric Brann/U.S. Navy)
Four Democratic senators are pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about whether the Pentagon took proper steps to protect U.S. service members in the Iran war.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly this weekend sent a letter to Hegseth with concerns that the department failed to take “even basic precautions” to protect the lives of Americans after the president initiated the mission dubbed Operation Epic Fury.
They pointed to reports following a March 1 attack that killed six soldiers in Kuwait and injured 20 more. The war began Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed a number of top leaders.
“The safety and well-being of our service members should be a top priority for DoD leadership,” the legislators wrote. “That requires careful consideration of major operations like Epic Fury and plans to prevent possible harm from foreseeable attacks, like retaliation with drone strikes.”
Pentagon officials declined to comment on the letter, telling Stars and Stripes that they typically respond directly to such congressional correspondence.
The drone strike, which hit a military post at Shuaiba Port, came with no warning or sirens to alert troops of an incoming attack, the letter noted, citing a CNN report.
Afterward, soldiers treated their injuries with makeshift bandages, braces and tourniquets and commandeered civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to Kuwaiti hospitals, the letter added.
While the post did have steel-reinforced concrete barriers to protect against mortar blasts, rockets and car bombs, there were no defenses at Shuaiba that could be used to bring down incoming drones or other munitions, the senators wrote.
One survivor told CBS News that the degree of fortification for the post against drone attacks fell under the “none category,” while others said the unit was unprepared to defend itself.
After the fatal attack, Hegseth described the Iranian drone that hit the post as “powerful” and suggested that the strike was a one-off that managed to get through fortified defenses.
“We have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while you might have one … that makes its way through,” Hegseth said in a March 2 press conference. “In that particular case, it happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons.”
The senators wrote to Hegseth that “accounts from survivors and other officials with knowledge of the situation make clear that the risks to service members in the region were known, but leadership at DoD failed to take steps to prevent harm that could come from Iran’s retaliation.”
The senators also cited a NOTUS report stating that the military did not provide warnings of an imminent attack to American-flagged vessels in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. defense officials have said precautions were taken ahead of expected Iranian retaliation, including changes to force posture and defensive measures at U.S. bases.
President Donald Trump has pointed to the relatively limited number of U.S. casualties as evidence that the operation has been effective.
Iranian retaliation following the launch of Epic Fury prompted one of the largest evacuations of American civilians in history.
Hundreds of military families stationed in Bahrain were not given the green light to leave until after the first strikes hit Iran, at which point the airspace was already closed and Iranian strikes were incoming.
Many military families waited several days before they could leave the country via land routes, sheltering with young children as drones and missiles hit Naval Support Activity Bahrain and surrounding areas.
The war has killed a total of 13 U.S. service members and wounded hundreds of others, according to the Pentagon. A small number sustained serious injuries, while the majority have returned to duty.
