Survivors of Iranian attack that killed 6 U.S. troops say generals ignored warnings
Source: Washington Post
July 12, 2026 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Seconds after an Iranian drone struck his units operations center in Kuwait, an Army general responsible for the troops inside got up from the floor, grabbed his protective vest and helmet, and shouted an order to a soldier beside him: Get out!
It was March 1, barely a day into the U.S. war against Iran. The drone hit in the center of the building at Port Shuaiba, its concussive blast hurling troops into walls and igniting a deadly fire, survivors of the strike told The Washington Post. Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes ran for the emergency exit and to a nearby protective bunker, even as dozens of men and women under his command remained behind, said the soldier ordered to flee with him.
We shouldnt have run out of the f---ing building, the soldier added, his voice trembling as he recounted how, once the bunkers steel doors were reopened, hed tried to head back to the building to help, but Barnes told him to stay put. I cant just, like, watch this happen, he recalled thinking.
At the urging of another officer who was running toward the fire, the soldier said, he went back to the operations center and began calling out through the smoke hoping to find survivors. The general, the soldier said, did not.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/12/survivors-iranian-attack-that-killed-6-us-troops-say-generals-ignored-warnings/
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Midnight Writer
(26,092 posts)Defense is for sissies.
Real soldiers throw themselves into battle with reckless abandon, fulfilling their roles as fodder with glee.
BarbD
(1,549 posts)It is so sad that this is where we are now.
Puppyjive
(1,024 posts)I have friends I served with in the military, though I don't really care for them anymore. They say the military needed to get rid of it's wokeness. I'm like, you want to get rid of the experienced troops because their woke? He said it went to far in the military. At that point, I reminded him that I am a female veteran, who did serve in a combat zone along side of him. He said he wasn't talking about me. I told him diversity is what brings the military together. All different cultures and levels of experience come together to defend a country. Extreme religion got to these guys. It's just so bad. Never have I seen anything like it. We were prepared for war back in the day. Not sure what is going in now but Hegseth needs to be the first to get purged.
BurnDoubt
(2,000 posts)Order of The Bonespurs Medal awarded for self-preservation.