Survivors of Iranian attack on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait say Pentagon ignored requests for advanced medical aid, failed to provide protection from strikes, misclassified injuries
“[S]oldiers wounded in the attack concluded ‘the military’s medical system failed them.’”
July 31, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services 
Subcommittee on Personnel, and Representative Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has led 11 members of Congress in opening a new investigation into reports that the Department of Defense (DoD) failed to provide adequate medical care to service members injured in a March drone strike on a U.S. military post at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. In a new letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers asked him to provide clarity on the reports and DoD’s investigation into the Port Shuaiba strike.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, along with Representatives Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Derek Tran (D-Calif.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), and Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), all members of the House Armed Services Committee, joined in signing the letter.
“As President Trump once again ramps up his reckless war in Iran, and new reports indicate that additional American bases have come under attack, it is critical that DoD provide answers about its capacity to provide care for injured service members,” wrote the lawmakers.
In April, Senator Warren and Representative Ryan led investigations into reports that Secretary Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during President Trump’s war in Iran, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured dozens in Kuwait. Following new reporting revealing that service members warned of safety issues ahead of the strike, the lawmakers pressed for answers on why troops injured in the attack have not received timely access to medical care and why the Trump administration failed to prepare for attacks on troops in the Middle East.
Survivors reported facing delays and challenges in getting necessary medical care, including that injured service members who were flown to Germany for care were then told that they could only get limited treatment and had to wait in barracks as the hospital was unable to admit them. Other service members with symptoms of traumatic brain injuries were reportedly unable to get proper care for nearly a month after the strike, even after they were flown from Germany to Fort Hood in Texas.
The reports also raise serious concerns about DoD’s lack of preparation for a strike against Port Shuaiba. A soldier reportedly filed a complaint with the Inspector General stating that the lack of safety measures at Port Shuaiba were so significant that the unit’s force-protection assessments “recommended against positioning any personnel at Shuaiba Port.” Survivors of the strike reported that they believed that at least one victim of the attack could have survived if they had had proper access to care.
The Army reportedly downplayed injuries sustained during the strike, including by telling families that their loved ones were not seriously injured despite suffering extensive injuries.
“These reports are also emblematic of a broader pattern of the Trump administration’s blatant dismissal and disregard for the injuries and deaths of service members in this war,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers also called out DoD’s revision of official casualty counts from the war in Iran. Last week, DoD lowered the number of U.S. service members who had been killed in the war so far from 18 to 14, and categorized their deaths under “Overseas Operations” instead of Operation Epic Fury, in an apparent attempt to hide the growing casualty count of U.S. service members from President Trump’s war against Iran.
“This is shameful and a complete and utter disrespect to these service members, their loved ones, and those who served alongside them…It dishonors their ultimate sacrifice to attempt to hide the real costs of this war from the American people,” said the lawmakers.
“As you and President Trump continue to risk the lives of service members in this reckless war, the American people deserve answers on whether you were adequately prepared to protect service members from Iranian attacks and get them the care they needed, and whether you will be prepared to do so if the war continues and escalates even further,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers asked Secretary Hegseth to provide answers related to the reports of insufficient medical care, injury classifications, and details of the Port Shuaiba attack and ensuing investigation by August 12, 2026.
Senator Warren has fought back against the Trump administration’s illegal war against Iran endangering the lives of service members and Americans:
- In May 2026, Senator Warren’s oversight efforts uncovered that the State Department did not task the U.S. Transportation Command to assist with the evacuation of non-government Americans despite tens of thousands of Americans being trapped in the region and the Trump administration’s lack of evacuation plans at the start of the war.
- In April 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Personnel Subcommittee, questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump’s illegal war with Iran.
- In April 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Kelly (D-Ariz.) launched a new investigation into reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during Operation Epic Fury, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured dozens in Kuwait.
- In April 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pushed General Reed, Commander of U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), for clarity on whether the Trump administration was using all the tools at its disposal, including TRANSCOM, to evacuate Americans in the Middle East out of harm’s way following President Trump launching an illegal war against Iran.
- In March 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pressed General Randall Reed, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), on the Trump administration’s failures in evacuating Americans from the Middle East at the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran.
- In March 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) led the entire Massachusetts delegation in press Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the Trump administration’s “complete failure” to evacuate U.S. citizens — including Massachusetts residents — from the Middle East following the administration’s starting a reckless war in Iran.
Source: Senator Elizabeth Warren
