American soldiers stationed at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, claimed that the generals in charge of the base ignored intelligence that warned the site was a probable Iranian target during the latest war, ahead of a drone strike that killed six US soldiers on March 1, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.
According to the investigation, which was based on reports by 17 people, including soldiers who survived the strike and other firsthand witnesses, Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes left the premises after the drone strike, while soldiers under his command stayed behind.
The report cited soldiers involved feeling "guilt and betrayal," with many saying that they "didn't do enough to help those who died."
Additionally, wounded soldiers reportedly felt the US military’s medical system failed them, The Washington Post's investigation unveiled.
The Washington Post added that both generals in charge of the base, US Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes and US Maj. Gen. John Hinson responded to requests for comment, while the US Army "declined to address the soldiers’ complaints directly but broadly defended the unit’s leadership and its decision-making."
No punishments for leadership
The report also cited US officials with knowledge of the internal investigation conducted by the US Army following the attack, saying that no punitive action or assignment of fault for the attack and response was made against the base's leadership.
“If we don’t learn from these mistakes, if we just all believe the same lie, then it’ll happen to another unit later on, and they’ll end up in the same situation we were in,” Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom, who was in the building when it was hit, told The Washington Post.
The investigation also dove into the warnings and lack of preparation in the Shuaiba Port, claiming that the base did not have the defense systems that would be able to take down Iran's Shahed drones, while only small drones were intercepted during the attack.
Additionally, the safe zones were not adequately prepared, the report claimed, saying that there was no overhead covering for soldiers.
“We knew it was an identified target,” The Washington Post report said, citing one of the soldiers in the base. According to the estimates, the site was selected mainly because it was not attacked during the first escalation between the US and Iran in June 2025.
Soldiers, commanders got impatient during day-long attacks
The report also noted that many commanders pushed soldiers to stay within buildings instead of looking for cover when alarms were sounded, with an "all clear" signal given just 30 minutes before the deadly strike on March 1.
Soldiers cited in the report also said that officers in the base didn't approve of soldiers sleeping in the base's bunkers, even after hours in the refuge due to constant Iranian attacks.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the generals “immediately assisted with the on-scene evacuation of personnel and worked directly with personnel on the ground to establish initial accountability before being medically evacuated due to their own injuries.”