Survivors of an Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. soldiers in Kuwait on March 1 have rejected statements made by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
CBS News reported the survivors’ accounts on April 9. Hegseth called the drone a “squirter” that slipped past defenses. He later said the strike hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, though the weapons were powerful.
One injured soldier told CBS News that Hegseth’s description of the attack was false. The troops inside the compound acted quickly and with courage, the soldier said, but the unit was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.
The strike took place at the Port of Shuaiba. Soldiers said the location sat within range of Iranian missiles and drones. Intelligence available at the time showed the base appeared on a list of possible Iranian targets.
Sequence of Events Before and After the Strike
The attack followed U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. A group of about 60 troops received orders to take cover in a cement bunker while a ballistic missile passed overhead.
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Once the all-clear came, officers removed their helmets and returned to desks inside a small wooden and tin building to handle logistics.
Thirty minutes later the drone hit. One soldier described the impact: “Your ears are ringing. Everything’s fuzzy. Your vision is blurry. You’re dizzy. There’s dust and smoke everywhere.”
The blast caused head wounds, heavy bleeding, perforated eardrums, and shrapnel injuries to the abdomen, arms, and legs.
Soldiers inside treated their own wounds. They rigged bandages, braces, and tourniquets from available materials. They took civilian vehicles to carry the injured to a hospital. One survivor said the hardest part was knowing not everyone had been pulled out before he left for treatment. Other teams later evacuated the rest.
The bunker had only a thin vertical blast barricade. One soldier called it about as weak as a bunker could get from attacks coming from above.
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Why This Matters
Soldiers who lived through the strike said the location and setup left them exposed. One told CBS News they had moved closer to Iran into a deeply unsafe area listed as a known target. No clear reason for the move was ever given, the soldier said.
Another soldier said he did not want to harm morale or criticize the Army or Department of War as a whole. But he believed the truth mattered so that the same mistakes would not repeat.
He told CBS News the attack was preventable. “I am very sad for their loss and it’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” he said. “But I’m also immensely proud of them and their sacrifice, and their family should be too.”
The Pentagon has not commented on the survivors’ statements. A spokesperson said the matter remains under investigation. Assistant Secretary of War Sean Parnell had said in early March that every possible measure had been taken to protect the troops. The six soldiers died in Iran’s deadliest strike against U.S. forces since the current war began.
