RYAN, WARREN, BICAMERAL LAWMAKERS URGE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS ON FATAL PORT SHUAIBA ATTACK FOLLOWING WHISTLEBLOWER REPORTS
Warren, Ryan, Bicameral Lawmakers Urge Armed Services Committee Chairmen to Hold Public Hearings on Fatal Port Shuaiba Attack Following Whistleblower Reports
New details reveal DoD was unprepared and failed to support service members and their families in the aftermath of Iranian strike
“It is critical that Congress gets answers on the failures that led to the attacks, and on the subsequent mistreatment of survivors and families of those killed”
“As the administration continues to ask Congress for more resources for this war, we can no longer afford to wait for DoD to deign when they are going to answer these questions.”
Washington, D.C. — Representative Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, led 19 members of Congress in a letter to Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Representative Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chair of the House Committee on Armed Services, urging them to hold public hearings on the Iranian attack of a U.S. military base in Kuwait that killed six service members and injured more than 30 others.
“(A)llegations reported by whistleblowers to Representative Ryan’s and Senator Warren’s offices, have raised even more concerns about the lack of appropriate medical care for service members injured in the strike, the treatment of survivors and their families, and the DoD (Department of Defense) investigation of this attack,” wrote the lawmakers.
In April, Representative Ryan and Senator Warren led investigations into reports that Secretary Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during President Trump’s war in Iran, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured dozens in Kuwait. Following reports revealing that service members were warned of safety issues ahead of the strike, the lawmakers pressed for answers as to why the Trump administration reportedly failed to adequately prepare for attacks on troops in the Middle East.
The lawmakers then expanded the investigation in July following additional new reports that DoD failed to provide adequate medical care to service members injured in the strike. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers asked for clarity on the reports and DoD’s investigation into the Port Shuaiba strike. DoD has not responded to the lawmakers’ questions and has stonewalled oversight by failing to provide Congress with the results of the Army’s investigations into the Port Shuaiba strike despite repeated requests.
These new reports indicate that:
- “There was absolutely no evacuation plan” in the case of an attack on Port Shuaiba.
- Injured survivors of the March 1st strike faced delays in receiving appropriate care in the immediate aftermath of the strike.
- Since then, multiple soldiers injured in the strike have waited months for appointments, with at least one still unable to secure an appointment months later.
- Families of the fallen were misled about meetings with DoD officials—they were told they had been invited to a ceremony instead of a briefing on the deaths of their loved ones.
- Some purple hearts were mailed to survivors and families of the fallen, instead of being presented in a ceremony in accordance with Secretary Hegseth’s policy memorandum.
- The service member originally appointed to conduct the investigation into the strike was a public affairs officer under the chain of command of one of the commanders present during the strike. Additionally, the more senior officer who later took over the investigation was reportedly still a lower rank than the commanders of the 103rd Sustainment Command and the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, who were both present during the strike.
The lawmakers urged the chairmen to hold public hearings on the Port Shuaiba attack to answer the questions already posed by Congress and address the additional allegations regarding the treatment of military families, including whether DoD followed appropriate protocols in briefing the families, informing them of the injuries of their loved ones, and awarding medals.
“It is unacceptable that President Trump has dragged the U.S. into a reckless war while failing to properly protect our service members from Iranian attacks and to give them the care they need,” wrote the lawmakers.
“These are serious allegations and our service members, their families, and the American people deserve answers,” concluded the lawmakers.
The full list of signers includes Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.); and Representatives Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Derek Tran (D-Calif.), and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.).
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