For more than two decades, Camp Buehring stood as a pillar of American military presence in Kuwait — a staging ground for the region's long and complicated entanglements. In the spring of 2026, that permanence gave way: Iranian missile and drone strikes degraded the base to the point where the remaining hundred-plus soldiers, short on ammunition and medical capacity, slipped into the desert night rather than hold a position they could no longer defend. No one died in combat, but the episode revealed something quieter and more consequential — that the infrastructure of American power in the Mid
Iranian strikes forced US troops to abandon Kuwait base amid ammo shortages
Several US soldiers injured during operations; two struck by lightning during desert sandstorms causing burns and ruptured eardrum; no combat deaths reported.
We had to abandon the base
Mark
So the base was evacuated because of ammunition shortages? That seems like a significant operational failure.
Mimi
It wasn't just the ammunition, though that was real—service members specifically mentioned .50-caliber rounds running low. It was the combination: repeated attacks, limited defensive resources, and the fear that if a strike caused mass casualties, they didn't have the medical or logistical capacity to respond.
Luke
But we should be careful here. We know the soldiers said these things to CBS. We know there was damage to the base. What we don't know is whether the ammunition shortage was the primary reason for evacuation or one factor among several that commanders weighed.
Mark
The Pentagon didn't comment on any of this?
Mimi
CENTCOM declined to comment. The Pentagon just pointed back to Hegseth's March statement about moving ninety percent of personnel out of range.
Luke
Which is true—most troops had already been evacuated before the fighting started. So the question becomes: why were those hundred-plus left behind, and at what point did the calculus shift?
Mark
And the soldiers who stayed—did any of them die?
Mimi
No combat deaths at the base or in the desert positions. But two were struck by lightning during sandstorms after they left, one with burns and one with a ruptured eardrum. Commanders had wanted to move them sooner.
Luke
That's important context. The real danger shifted from enemy fire to the conditions of the evacuation itself. The base wasn't overrun; it was abandoned as a precaution.
Mark
What about the broader picture? Was this just Camp Buehring?
Mimi
No. A Pentagon inspector general assessment found damage across hundreds of buildings at US bases in the region. Equipment losses totaled $3.7 billion. Ammunition shortfalls and supply-chain problems were documented across the footprint.
Luke
So Camp Buehring is one data point in a larger pattern of strain on American military infrastructure in the region.
Der Puls
- Iranian ballistic missiles, drones, and reportedly fighter jets struck Camp Buehring in waves, turning a long-established US base into an untenable position.
- Soldiers found themselves critically short of .50-caliber ammunition and medical resources, with no viable plan to absorb a serious escalation — a logistical failure as alarming as the attacks themselves.
- Commanders ordered a nighttime evacuation, loading equipment into vehicles and dispersing troops into Kuwait's open desert, trading a fixed base for exposed forward positions.
- Nature compounded the crisis: two soldiers were struck by lightning during desert sandstorms, suffering severe burns and a ruptured eardrum before the unit could reach Camp Arifjan.
- A Pentagon inspector general assessment later tallied $3.7 billion in regional equipment losses and documented supply-chain failures across the military's Middle East footprint — the soldiers' accounts fitting a much larger pattern of institutional strain.
For more than two decades, Camp Buehring stood as a pillar of American military presence in Kuwait — a staging ground for the region's long and complicated entanglements. In the spring of 2026, that permanence gave way: Iranian missile and drone strikes degraded the base to the point where the remaining hundred-plus soldiers, short on ammunition and medical capacity, slipped into the desert night rather than hold a position they could no longer defend. No one died in combat, but the episode revealed something quieter and more consequential — that the infrastructure of American power in the Middle East is neither as fixed nor as supplied as its decades-long presence might suggest.
When Iranian attacks began striking Camp Buehring, most of the seven thousand American troops stationed there had already been relocated. But more than a hundred remained — managing logistics, maintaining operations — and what they encountered was a base under sustained assault with dwindling means to resist it. Ballistic missiles, drones, and reportedly fighter jets struck in waves. The soldiers assessed what they had: too little ammunition, too little medical capacity, too little of almost anything to absorb a serious blow. The conclusion was blunt. They had to leave.
By late April, the remaining personnel loaded their equipment into vehicles and departed under cover of darkness, heading into Kuwait's desert to establish forward positions away from the installation. The evacuation carried its own dangers. Two soldiers were struck by lightning during sandstorms — one suffering severe burns, the other a ruptured eardrum. Commanders had hoped to move the troops sooner, but the relocation wasn't complete when the weather turned. The unit eventually reached Camp Arifjan in May before dispersing to assignments across the region. No one died from enemy fire.
Camp Buehring had anchored American military logistics in the region for over twenty years. Its vulnerability was not an isolated case. A Pentagon inspector general assessment covering February through June documented damage to hundreds of structures at US bases across the region and tallied equipment losses at $3.7 billion, alongside ammunition shortfalls and supply-chain disruptions that stretched across the military's entire regional presence.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said in early March that more than ninety percent of personnel at vulnerable bases had been moved beyond Iranian range — a statement the Pentagon offered in response to questions about the soldiers' accounts. CENTCOM declined to comment at all. What remained was the testimony of the troops themselves: dwindling supplies, fears about mass casualties, and a nighttime departure into the desert. CBS News verified the footage through metadata and cross-referencing with base photographs. The soldiers' account held.
When the fighting began, most of the seven thousand American troops stationed at Camp Buehring in Kuwait had already been moved to safety. But more than a hundred remained. They stayed to maintain the base, to manage logistics, to keep operations running. What they found instead was a deteriorating position under repeated attack, with ammunition running low and no clear plan for what would happen if the strikes grew worse.
The Iranian attacks came in waves—ballistic missiles, drones, and according to three service members who spoke to CBS News, fighter jets. The base took damage. The soldiers took stock of what they had: not enough ammunition, not enough medical capacity, not enough of almost anything to absorb a serious assault. One soldier, speaking anonymously because military rules forbid it, put it plainly: "We had to abandon the base." By late April, the remaining personnel loaded equipment into vehicles and departed at night, heading into Kuwait's desert to establish forward operating positions away from the installation.
The evacuation itself was chaotic in the way military operations often are. Two soldiers were struck by lightning during sandstorms in the desert in late April—one suffered severe burns, the other a ruptured eardrum. Commanders had wanted to move the troops sooner, but the relocation wasn't complete when the weather turned. The soldiers eventually transferred to Camp Arifjan in May, and from there dispersed to assignments across the Middle East and beyond. No one was killed by enemy fire at Camp Buehring or in the desert positions, though several were injured.
Camp Buehring had been a fixture of American military presence in the region for more than twenty years, a hub for deployments across the Middle East. Its vulnerability during this conflict was not unique. A Pentagon inspector general assessment covering February through June documented damage to hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases across the region, including in Kuwait. The assessment tallied equipment losses at $3.7 billion. It identified ammunition shortfalls and supply-chain problems that rippled across the military's regional footprint.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had stated in early March that more than ninety percent of American personnel previously stationed at vulnerable bases had been moved beyond the range of Iranian fire. The Pentagon pointed to that statement when CBS asked for comment on the soldiers' accounts. CENTCOM declined to respond at all. What remained was the testimony of the troops themselves—their descriptions of dwindling supplies, their fears about casualties, their nighttime departure into the desert. CBS verified the footage of the strikes and damage by checking metadata and comparing the recordings with photographs of the base. The soldiers' account stood.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We had to abandon the base— Anonymous US soldier at Camp Buehring, speaking to CBS News
More than 90% of Americans previously stationed at US bases had been moved beyond the range of Iranian fire— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, March 4
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