A U.S. Army unit's request for more medical support weeks before an Iranian attack was ignored, leading to the death of a soldier who was injured and could have been saved, according to a new report.
CBS News noted that the command post in Kuwait made the request several weeks before an Iranian attack on the position. According to the network, survivors of the attack said that at least one soldier who was injured could have been saved had there been adequate medical resources on site.
"This was a failure," Major Stephen Ramsbottom told CBS News. He added that Master Sergeant Nicole Amor might have survived with proper medical care. "She could have been saved. She fought the whole way and was trying to stay alive."
The position was hit March 1 in a retaliatory strike by Iran after U.S.-Israeli bombing missions began on February 28. At the time, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described it as a "tactical operation center that was fortified," CNN reported.
According to CNN, the center was a triple-wide trailer with office space inside. According to reports from back then, the center was hit with no warning sirens or alerts being issued. Sources told the outlet that although the building had protective concrete barriers around it, there was nothing to shield it from an aerial bombardment.
Ramsbottom told CBS News that after the drone attack he had expected a convoy of air to rush in and help those who had been wounded. Instead, he told the network, that no one came.
"I wanted to see like a line of ambulances coming towards us or something," Ramsbottom told the outlet. "And there wasn't that. It was like, oh man, we're on our own."
A Pentagon spokesperson told CBS News that suggestions the Defense Department disregarded safety for the position was inaccurate.
"No plan is ever perfect, but accusations suggesting blatant disregard for the safety of our forces are unfounded and inaccurate," Capt. Tim Hawkins of U.S. Central Command wrote in a statement.
