Iran appeared to guard facility where US forces died in Kuwait, army memo says

Washington — In the week before an Iranian retaliation attack that killed six US service members In Kuwait, when the US-Israel war with Tehran began, Iranian intelligence was likely able to identify and track US forces leaving military installations as part of the Pentagon’s force protection plan. Troops had moved in anticipation of pre-emptive strikes against Iran, according to a U.S. military central memo reviewed by News themezone.

US Army Central is a component of US Central Command, the primary unit conducting operations against Iran. His memo said the United States had determined that Iran-aligned militia groups were using a combination of intelligence capabilities to monitor the movements of American troops.

Smaller quadcopter drones were seen flying around Kuwait’s Shuaiba port and were suspected of conducting reconnaissance before the drone strike, according to three U.S. military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

A day after the six Americans died on March 1, U.S. forces recovered GPS transponders attached to balloons or parachutes near Patriot Missile Defense Systems. It is unclear what these transponders were used for or whether they played a role in the drones launched by Iran.

News themezone did not obtain the memo from Army Central, but reviewed it and independently verified the authenticity of the contents. The document seen by News themezone had no classification marks attached to it. The memorandum sought to transmit information from Army Central to higher command.

News themezone is withholding release of information related to ongoing force protection measures designed to protect U.S. troops following the March 1 attack.

US Army Central referred questions to US Central Command, which did not respond.

in a joint press conference At the Pentagon on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed the media on U.S. military operations against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

Hegseth explained that before launching major combat operations, the Department of Defense prioritized the protection of American troops above all else.

“As we build offensive combat power, we moved the vast majority of American troops – more than 90% of Americans who were on our bases – out of the X, out of range of Iranian fire,” Hegseth told reporters.

News themezone has learned that the six Americans killed at the Shuaiba Port tactical operations center in Kuwait were located there as part of the “get out of the X” plan explained by Hegseth. In military parlance, “X” means a target and “getting off the X” means moving away from a dangerous location where a service member could be attacked or attacked.

US troops were withdrawn from Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. A U.S. military official said the plan to leave “the X” was a good idea, but unfortunately, the “X” moved in with some of the service members without their knowledge.

Three U.S. military officials told News themezone that the tactical operations center at Shuaiba Port in Kuwait was an Operations Continuity Tactical Operations Center, known as COOP TOC, a backup command post that can take over operations if the main tactical operations center is destroyed, evacuated or cannot function.

While the existing structure had been there for years for port operations, it was repurposed for the Defense Department’s offensive against Iran. Three US military officials said it was the same plan executed during last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

This particular operations center and its defenses were common during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The cargo trailers or containers were surrounded by T-walls, which are steel-reinforced concrete barriers that could provide protection from mortars and rockets, but not from air strikes.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell disputed News themezone’ reports, arguing that the center was a “secure facility” and “was fortified with 6-foot walls.”

What happened at the US base in the port of Shuaiba?

On Tuesday, News themezone reported that before the attack, there were discussions about whether the location should be used as a secondary operations center because it concentrated too many American troops in a location that was not defensible from threats from the sky. Despite the recommendation that the site not be used, the Earth leaders decided to use it anyway.

Military officials also said the warning siren that alerts service members of an incoming airstrike had been operating all week before the deadly attack, but in previous incidents, some of the drones were already inside the base before the siren sounded. Service members did not remember if the warning siren was activated before the drone hit the center.

Officials on the ground The operations center had requested additional drone systems near the port to defend against incoming drones. It is unclear why those additional resources were not provided. An official told News themezone that the port did not have the capacity to defeat the drones.

Officials also said there were no U.S. defense systems at the Shuaiba port that could be used to shoot down drones or other deadly munitions. Kuwait had interceptors nearby, but it is unclear if they were used.

“There are air defenses, and a lot of things are coming, and most of it is hit,” Hegseth said during a news conference at the Pentagon. “Every once in a while, you might have one, unfortunately we call it a squirter, that makes it through. And in that particular case, it hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons.”

The pentagon identified those murdered as Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor and Sergeant Declan Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist. He said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan is “believed to be” the sixth soldier who died. All six were from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines.

The Defense Department has been exploring ways to harden positions and counter drones since the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine four years ago. Hegseth created Joint Interagency Task Force 401 to help accelerate the Pentagon’s counter-drone efforts.

In January, the task force published a manual to assist military installation commanders in their efforts to protect their assets from drones. Recommendations included protective netting to capture or trigger early detonation of incoming drones, along with a reinforced top cover.

Army Brigade. Gen. Matt Ross, director of the task force, said: “Whether it’s a forward operating base, an outdoor concert venue or a stadium hosting the World Cup, the risk assessment and physical protection principles outlined in this guidance remain the same.”

Elliot Ackerman, a US Navy veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and a News themezone contributor, stressed the need to learn from these tragic incidents.

“The threat posed by drones on the battlefield is new and real, as we have seen in Ukraine and are now seeing in Iran. In every war, tactics change. This war will be no different,” Ackerman said. “The important thing is to adapt and anticipate these changes.”