Iranian strikes forced US troops to effectively abandon a major military base in Kuwait during the opening stages of the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to newly released footage and accounts from American servicemen obtained by CBS News.
Videos shared by American soldiers in breach of the Pentagon’s strict media policy show several drones nosediving into Camp Buehring, a major US Army staging facility roughly 40 km from the Iraqi border, as well as damage to buildings and military equipment. CBS said it authenticated the recordings using embedded metadata and imagery of the aftermath.
The installation came under repeated attack by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones after hostilities began on February 28. A US service member also told CBS that Iranian F-5 fighter jets flew missions against the base “so close to us I could see their helmets.”
Most of the roughly 7,000 troops stationed at Camp Buehring had already been dispersed before the war under what the Pentagon called its “get off the X” strategy, aimed at moving personnel away from fixed positions vulnerable to Iranian retaliation.
Some 100 soldiers, however, remained behind to defend the installation, where they were repeatedly forced into bunkers and ran critically low on ammunition, including Patriot interceptors.
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“They hit us bad,” one serviceman told the outlet. “It was horrible… We had to abandon the base.”
The remaining troops eventually fled the base and established improvised forward operating outposts in the Kuwaiti desert, where they remained for weeks. No US personnel were killed, although several were injured, including two who were struck by lightning during desert sandstorms.
“CBKU got demolished,” the serviceman said. “They need to do an investigation. How come no one came to reinforce us?”
The Pentagon declined to comment directly on the CBS report, instead referring the outlet to remarks made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March, when he acknowledged that more than 90% of American personnel had been moved away from US regional bases.
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The revelations come days after an Associated Press investigation raised separate questions about US preparations elsewhere in Kuwait. An Iranian drone struck an American operations center at Port Shuaiba on March 1, killing six soldiers and wounding dozens in what remains the deadliest known single attack on American troops during the conflict. Some of the wounded said troops initially treated each other with basic first-aid supplies and had to use Google to locate the nearest hospital in Kuwait City. The Pentagon has maintained that its medical response was appropriate.
