Commander rejected plans to rebase farther from Iran before deadly drone strike, sources say

September 24, 2026 / 9:01 PM EDT / CBS News

The dozens of U.S. troops bombarded by Iranian drones at a small Kuwaiti port in the opening days of the Iran war could have relocated to safer positions in western Saudi Arabia, multiple sources told CBS News, but those plans were rejected by the unit's commanding general despite intelligence warning of a potential attack on their post.

About one week before the launch of Operation Epic Fury, most American soldiers and Air Force personnel stationed in Kuwait were moved to Jordan and Saudi Arabia — farther away from Iranian missile range. At least two options were scouted, planned and presented to the leadership of the 103rd Sustainment Command, the Army Reserve unit that ran logistics for U.S. Central Command: one was Logistical Support Area (LSA) Jenkins, a U.S. military base near the southwest port city of Yanbu, and another was Prince Sultan Air Force Base, just southeast of the Saudi capital city Riyadh.

A third option, supported by the commander, Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes, was to follow the playbook from the unit that was previously deployed to Kuwait before the 103rd arrived in September 2025. During the 12-day war between…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/