Six US Army Reserve soldiers died in a suspected Iranian drone attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on 1 March 2026, in what lawmakers and survivors say was a preventable failure of force protection.
All six were members of the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, managing the movement of equipment, munitions, and personnel across the Middle East when an unmanned device struck the centre of their makeshift workspace.
The attack, which also wounded more than 20 others, came just hours into Operation Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that launched on 28 February 2026. In the weeks that followed, contradictions between the Pentagon's account and survivor testimony have drawn formal investigations from both chambers of Congress.
Inside the Strike That Killed Six at Port Shuaiba
About a week before Operation Epic Fury launched, most US soldiers stationed in Kuwait were relocated to positions in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, further from Iranian missile range. For several dozen members of the 103rd Sustainment Command, however, the orders were different: pack up everything and move to Port of Shuaiba, a smaller military outpost south of Kuwait City.
Three US military officials with direct knowledge of the incident told CBS News that the operations centre was a triple-wide trailer converted into office space, a common arrangement at US forward bases abroad. Fire engulfed the building after impact, complicating the recovery of remains in the immediate aftermath.
The Pentagon identified all six service members in the days following the attack. They were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.
They were the first Americans killed in the conflict with Iran. The 103rd Sustainment Command confirmed all six died in 'an unmanned aircraft system attack' at the Port of Shuaiba.
Preliminary battle damage assessments, relayed to CBS News by three military officials speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated the strike involved a one-way drone. Iran typically deploys Shahed-136 kamikaze-style drones in such operations. The strike appeared to hit dead-centre on top of the building, according to two of the three officials.
No Sirens, No Drone Defences, and a Known Target List
In the hours before the fatal strike, incoming missile alarms had signalled approximately 60 troops on site to take cover in a cement bunker while a ballistic missile flew overhead. When an all-clear alert sounded, officers removed their helmets and returned to their desks. Around 30 minutes later, one survivor told CBS News, 'everything shook.' 'Your ears are ringing. Everything's fuzzy. Your vision is blurry. There's dust and smoke everywhere.'
Two of three military sources who spoke to CBS News said they did not recall hearing warning sirens before the drone struck, despite the counter-battery detection system having functioned during prior incidents that week. Two sources also confirmed there was no American counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system at Shuaiba port capable of intercepting drones. One told the outlet: 'We basically had no drone defeat capability.' Requests for additional resources to defeat incoming drones had been made, but those requests were not fulfilled, the sources said.
🚨MAJOR BREAKING: Rep. Pat Ryan just revealed that Pete Hegseth ordered military members to an area in Kuwait with an ACTIVE WARNING they had ZERO defense against drone attacks and he IGNORED IT.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) April 29, 2026
Six were then KILLED. Survivors blame Hegseth.
This is even WORSE than Benghazi. pic.twitter.com/ulga1MBMlX
Three officials also told CBS News that, prior to the attack, there were internal discussions about whether the tactical operations centre should have been used at all, as it concentrated too many US troops in a position that was not defensible.
A Senate Armed Services Committee letter cited evidence that one service member had seen intelligence showing the post 'was on a list of potential Iranian targets.' After the attack, soldiers treated injuries with makeshift bandages and tourniquets, then commandeered civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to Kuwaiti hospitals in the suburb of Fahaheel.
Hegseth's 'Squirter' Account Disputed by Survivors on the Ground
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at a Pentagon press conference on 2 March 2026, characterised the incident as a single drone slipping through otherwise functioning defences. 'Every once in a while, you might have one, unfortunately, we call it a squirter, that makes its way through,' Hegseth said. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell separately described the command post as a 'secure facility' that was 'fortified with 6-foot walls.'
Survivors disputed that characterisation directly. One injured soldier, speaking to CBS News on condition of anonymity, said: 'Painting a picture that "one squeaked through" is a falsehood.' Another stated the unit 'was unprepared to provide any defence for itself. It was not a fortified position.' When asked what drone defences had been in place, a third servicemember replied: 'I would put it in the "none" category, from a drone defence capability... none.'
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on 29 April 2026, Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY), an Iraq War combat veteran, confronted Hegseth directly over the Port Shuaiba failures. Ryan asked whether the site had appeared on a Department of Defence list of potential Iranian targets. Hegseth responded by asking Ryan if he was 'going to play gotcha.' Hegseth told the committee he had put in 'maximum defensive posture' before the conflict began and noted that 7,500 troops had been relocated away from danger zones 'based on the intel.'
With more than 50,000 US troops still stationed across the region and the conflict ongoing, the force protection failures at Port Shuaiba have become a test of whether this administration will answer to Congress, and to the families of six soldiers who were ordered into an indefensible position on the first day of war.
