Army whistleblower alleges officials ignored warnings before Kuwait drone attack
A U.S. Army soldier who survived a deadly Iranian drone attack filed a whistleblower complaint to Congress alleging senior military officials ignored warnings and did not plan properly for anti-drone defenses ahead of the war with Iran.
The whistleblower, Army Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom, spoke exclusively with 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell about his complaint, which was submitted to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Friday and obtained by CBS News.
He alleges Army leaders dismissed concerns over thin fortifications at a U.S. command post in Kuwait where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone in the first 24 hours of the conflict, the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in the war.
The complaint also claims the post — known as Port Shuaiba — "had no physician, no fixed aid station, and only one ambulance."
"I feel this is a tactical failure by the Army, our leadership, and myself — all the way down to my level," Maj. Ramsbottom told 60 Minutes. "We just did not plan this well, and this needs to be a lesson that we learn."
Ramsbottom spoke with 60 Minutes as part of an eight-month investigation into the March 1 attack at the command post, known as Port Shuaiba. The day after the attack, in a press conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the troops there were well protected.
"Every once in a while you might have one, unfortunately, we call it a squirter that makes its way through," Hegseth said. "And in that particular case it happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified. But these are powerful weapons."
The eyewitness accounts, along with photos and videos of the attack's aftermath, offer a staggering look at the thinly fortified Kuwaiti port facility when it was hit one day after the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and the ranking member on the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a series of demands to Hegseth after reviewing the whistleblower complaint.
In a letter dated Nov. 15, the senator called on Hegseth to appear in a classified briefing and provide "all force protection assessments" for Port Shuaiba. Democrats have signaled they will probe the administration's handling of the war with Iran when they retake both houses of Congress next year.
"The families of the six fallen servicemembers, the wounded survivors, and the American people deserve transparency and accountability," wrote Blumenthal.
A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on Ramsbottom's allegations, including on whether adequate force protection was in place at Port Shuaiba.
