The Connecticut Democrat, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter on Wednesday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao seeking information about the carrier’s long deployment and reports of problems involving basic supplies, water, plumbing, mental health, deck safety and mail.

The letter comes one day after a Military Times report that detailed concerns of family members who said multiple sailors aboard the Lincoln had attempted to go overboard during the deployment, which has been indefinitely extended as the carrier supports U.S. military operations in the Middle East against Iran.

The report also outlined various concerns raised by sailors and their families about conditions aboard the ship and the strain of the prolonged deployment.

The Lincoln departed Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, for a deployment expected to last seven months, according to Blumenthal’s letter. The carrier is now sailing towards its ninth month of deployment and, according to the senator, has gone more than 200 days without a port call.

Blumenthal asked the Navy to provide the dates of each extension to the Lincoln’s deployment, identify who authorized the extensions and explain the operational requirements behind each decision.

He also asked for a list of significant quality-of-life problems identified aboard the carrier, including mold, broken toilets or laundry facilities, inadequate water supplies and shortages of hygiene products.

Blumenthal requested information on when those problems were first identified and what corrective actions were taken.

The senator also asked what measures the Navy is taking to assess fatigue, morale, mental health and crew readiness aboard the Lincoln. Additionally, the letter asks whether commanders have identified increases in safety incidents, medical issues, disciplinary incidents or other readiness indicators associated with the extended deployment or the number of consecutive days at sea.

The Navy, meanwhile, has not provided a precise number of sailors who have attempted to go overboard or engaged in self-harm during the current deployment.

The service did not respond to inquiries by Military Times, but in a statement provided to Task & Purpose, denied the report.

“Based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship,” officials told Task & Purpose.

The Navy also told T&P it recognizes that extended deployments place significant strain on service members and their families, and that the Lincoln has medical professionals, counselors, chaplains, fleet and family support services available to sailors.

Navy officials also said current reports from the ship confirm continuous access to clean water and functional air conditioning. The service also acknowledged disruptions to mail and changes to resupply and replenishment during the deployment.

In his letter, Blumenthal asked the Navy to explain how it plans to maintain a carrier presence in the Middle East over the next 12 to 24 months if current operational requirements continue, including how anticipated carrier rotations could affect planned deployments, maintenance periods and carrier presence in the Indo-Pacific and other theaters.

The senator inquired as to whether the Navy believes current demand for carrier presence exceeds what can be sustainably generated under its existing force structure and deployment model.

Concerns surrounding the Lincoln come on the heels of the USS Gerald R. Ford returning to Norfolk, Virginia, on May 16 after a 326-day deployment, a record for the longest post-Vietnam deployment.

Communication has been difficult to come by, and he is now on medical hold.

Loma, who lives in San Diego, said her husband had been repeatedly overextended before he tried to jump from the carrier.

“He’s scared,” Loma said. “He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out, his 13-year career is ruined, just like that. That’s not fair, that’s not right. That’s not what he should be worrying about right now.”

Loma said she initially received a call from the ship’s ombudsman after the incident but has not heard from anyone with the Navy in recent weeks.

Lincoln’s roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines remain on a deployment that began Nov. 21. The carrier has been deployed for more than eight months while supporting U.S. military operations in the Middle East against Iran.

The deployment, which was anticipated to end in May, has been extended with no publicly announced return date.

In a separate incident aboard Lincoln, a sailor on watch saw a shipmate preparing to go overboard, and he intervened, according to the sailor’s wife, Maria Rodriguez.

Rodriguez said her husband called out to the sailor before reaching the individual and grabbing their arms, pulling them onto the deck. Her husband told her the sailor had not yet gone over the side when he got there. Three other sailors heard the commotion and came running to help.

Rodriguez’s husband told her about the incident several days after it happened.

“He said he hadn’t felt adrenaline like that in his life, and he was just so thankful he was able to get to [the sailor] in time, to stop them from going overboard,” Rodriguez said.

She did not know what happened to the sailor afterward.

Separately, Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday that sailors described an incident in which watchstanders stopped a crew member from jumping overboard. Stripes reported that the crew was informed about the incident through a shipwide announcement.

More than 200 family members attended a meeting in San Diego last week with acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao. During a separate virtual meeting later that evening, families raised concerns about sailors’ mental health, exhaustion and safety, according to recordings of the meeting reviewed by MS NOW.

Vice Adm. Joseph Cahill, commander of Naval Surface Forces, acknowledged the strain on sailors and their families during the virtual meeting.

“We hear you loud and clear [regarding] the impact this has on families, on service members and the long-term ability of us to stand, sustain our forces’ health,” Cahill said, according to MS NOW.

Cahill described deployment-resilience counselors and chaplains aboard warships, along with Human Factors Councils designed to review factors affecting sailors’ well-being and identify related risks.

The Navy has said Lincoln’s leadership is continuously assessing sailors’ psychological readiness and that the carrier has access to counselors, chaplains, medical professionals and other support services.

The Navy did not provide a precise number of sailors who have attempted to go overboard or engaged in self-harm aboard Lincoln during the current deployment.

Shelby Sanders, whose mother is serving aboard Lincoln, said connecting has been difficult over the past eight months. When her mother does manage to send a note, Sanders said, she can tell she’s struggling.

“When she can email me, she’s definitely down,” Sanders said. “I think they’ve had five weeks of non-stop combat operations or something like that, so that makes it really tough to communicate consistently or even know if we’ll be able to. It sucks.”

Sanders is preparing to begin her senior year of high school without knowing whether her mother will be home for the milestones that normally mark the year.

“I don’t know how to enjoy starting my senior year when my mom isn’t here, you know?” Sanders said. “Will she be back before homecoming? My birthday? Christmas? I have no idea, and that’s all that I think about.”

Manuel Guevara, whose son is serving aboard Lincoln, said he sounded exhausted, down and worried the last time they spoke.

“Us being out there keeps wars out of our country, but it sucks having your family away. It makes the homecoming that much sweeter, but the uncertainty of when that day will come starts to eat away at you,” Guevara said.

The Navy father said it is difficult to stay focused when he hears about problems aboard the ship and knows his son is worried about day-to-day circumstances, such as eating, doing laundry and having adequate living conditions.

“I don’t want to worry that the circumstances of this deployment will get the best of my son, and he doesn’t make it back home,” Guevara said. “That’s an unbearable burden on my heart.”

The Navy is preparing the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group to relieve Lincoln, Cao told families at the San Diego meeting. Officials have not provided a timeline, however, citing operational security.

Meanwhile, Loma is caring for the couple’s three children, and her husband remains in medical hold.

“I’m trying to keep a happy face for our three kids,” she said. “They’re little, they miss their daddy, they just want to know mommy and daddy are okay. So I can’t just worry and break down, even though I want to — every single day.”

Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg told defense-industry leaders in an Aug. 5 memo that they have 21 days to submit plans for “significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities.”

“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”

The memo also asks companies to propose specific capital investments and facility expansions and to explain how they would work with the Pentagon to increase weapons production. Feinberg also called on industry to demonstrate its willingness to “put skin in the game.” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the responses will help inform the department’s fiscal 2028 budget request.

The increased demand comes as the U.S. has used large quantities of advanced munitions during the conflict with Iran, with recent estimates showing declines in stocks of key missile interceptors.

A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis estimated that U.S. stocks of Patriot interceptors fell from 2,330 before the war with Iran, to between 759 and 827 after the latest round of operations. THAAD interceptor stocks fell from 452 to between 234 and 278.

The Pentagon’s challenge is not identifying how many interceptors have been used, but how quickly they can be replaced. CSIS estimates the delivery timeline for Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors at about 42 months and about 53 months for THAAD.

The urgent 21-day deadline was communicated to arms manufacturers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX.

RTX said in July that it had received its first U.S. domestic production order for GEM-T Patriot interceptors in more than 30 years, in a roughly $442 million Army contract. The order comes as the Pentagon not only seeks to increase production of newer Patriot and THAAD interceptors but also to expand its capacity for the components required to build them.

On July 27, the department announced seven-year framework agreements with industry to expand production of key propulsion components for PAC-3 MSE and THAAD interceptors. L3Harris said its PAC-3 agreement will nearly triple production of a range of propulsion products supporting the interceptor, while its THAAD agreement is intended to quadruple production of key propulsion components.

Feinberg’s memo asks companies to identify the areas where they can increase and accelerate production and delivery, and what would be required from the Pentagon in order to make that happen. The department will use the responses to determine what industry can deliver faster and what additional resources may be needed.

The memo’s scope extends beyond weapons used in the Iran conflict. Feinberg identified 16 critical programs under consideration for accelerated production or increased procurement in the fiscal 2028 review, including the Next Generation Interceptor, the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), a mobile air defense radar system and a space-based missile-tracking system.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found the contract was never terminated; no work was removed, there was no reduction in its scope or value, and no funds were deobligated, according to a GAO review released on Aug. 6.

GAO’s review found that after DHA officials discussed the contract with DOGE, DOGE agreed that no action should be taken to terminate it, yet the $1.76 billion savings claim remains on DOGE’s Wall of Receipts.

DOGE’s April 14, 2025 entry identifies A1FedImpact and “Geographic Service Providers.” Data reported by DOGE and provided to Military Times by GAO shows about $1.83 billion listed as the total contract value and $1.76 billion in savings, with $62 million listed as the amount currently obligated.

DOGE’s Wall of Receipts says contract savings are calculated as the difference between a contract’s total value and the amount currently obligated. But GAO could not determine how DOGE arrived at those figures because DOGE did not respond to the watchdog’s requests for meetings or documentation.

DHA program and acquisition officials told GAO there were no savings associated with the contract because nothing was canceled or deobligated, and no work was removed.

The contract, HT001523D0002, was one of six awards made by DHA in 2023 under a multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) vehicle with a $2.4 billion ceiling. The vehicle was designed to provide standardized enterprise information technology support to medical treatment facilities and other lines of business across the Defense Health Agency in the United States and overseas.

Its scope includes IT service desks, database, application and web development, identity management and desktop support, data center operations, information assurance, network operations, telecommunications, clinical informatics and information business operations.

DHA managed 736 medical facilities in the United States and overseas in fiscal year 2023, according to GAO. Those facilities included hospitals, medical centers, ambulatory and occupational health clinics and dental clinics.

The $2.4 billion figure is separate from the roughly $1.83 billion “Total Contract” figure displayed in DOGE’s record for the A1FedImpact entry.

On April 10, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum directing the termination of several Defense Department contracts as part of an effort to eliminate what the department characterized as wasteful spending.

The memorandum said the identified terminations represented $5.1 billion in spending and nearly $4 billion in estimated savings. It included a Defense Health Agency consulting-services contract among the identified actions.

Four days later, DOGE posted the A1FedImpact Geographic Service Providers entry on its Wall of Receipts, reporting $1.76 billion in savings.

DHA officials subsequently met with DOGE to discuss the work being performed under the contract. After that discussion, DOGE agreed that no action should be taken to terminate it, according to GAO.

GAO reviewed contract documentation and federal procurement data and found no complete or partial termination, no reduction in scope or value and no deobligation of funds. GAO concluded that no savings were achieved on the contract.

GAO also found no evidence that DOGE later removed, revised or corrected the $1.76 billion claim. GAO told Military Times that the claim remains reported on the Wall of Receipts, which DOGE last updated Jan. 1, 2026. The site remained live as of July 7, when GAO completed its review period.

GAO found broader discrepancies in DOGE’s contract-savings reporting. DOGE reported more than $61 billion in savings associated with 13,476 contracts it identified as terminated.

Of those contracts, GAO found that 2,503 of them, representing $27.4 billion in reported savings, had no termination action recorded in federal procurement data. GAO also found that DOGE did not use its stated methodology to calculate the majority of reported contract savings.

Military Times asked DHA what its officials told DOGE, whether the agency sought correction of the savings claim and whether the contract continued after DOGE reported the savings. DHA had not responded by publication time.

The White House was asked how DOGE arrived at the $1.76 billion figure and whether the administration stands by it as actual savings. The White House had not responded by publication time.

Military Times also asked A1FedImpact whether it was notified of a termination or reduction and whether work continued under the DHA vehicle. The company had not responded by publication time.

Schiess will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman, who has served as Chief of Space Operations since November 2022 and is expected to retire later this month. Upon assuming the position, Schiess will be promoted to four-star general, becoming the Space Force’s senior uniformed officer and serving as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

President Donald Trump nominated Schiess in May following Saltzman’s planned retirement.

Schiess currently serves as deputy Chief of Space Operations, a role in which he oversees the Space Force’s global operations, readiness, sustainment and training. Before joining the Space Force headquarters staff, he commanded U.S. Space Forces–Space, overseeing military space operations and integrating space capabilities in support of combatant commanders worldwide.

Earlier in his career, Schiess served as an Air Force missile officer and held assignments in military launch, GPS and satellite communications before commanding the 21st Space Wing and the 45th Space Wing. His 34-year military career also includes operational, staff and joint assignments supporting U.S. Central Command, U.S. Space Command and multinational operations.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in July, Schiess told lawmakers the Space Force must continue organizing, training and equipping Guardians to defend U.S. space capabilities, protect the joint force from space-enabled attack and deliver the capabilities needed to support military operations across the full range of missions.

“Our purpose is not confrontation, but deterrence, ensuring no adversary believes aggression against the United States will succeed,” Schiess told the committee.

He said he would work to ensure Guardians remain ready, the service’s capabilities remain resilient and its partnerships remain strong.

In written responses to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Schiess said he would prioritize strengthening the connection between force design, acquisition programs and combatant commanders’ operational requirements.

He also said he would focus on expanding launch infrastructure, improving the Space Force’s testing enterprise and continuing efforts to strengthen the acquisition workforce needed to field new capabilities more rapidly.

Gen. Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command, directed the activation Tuesday, describing Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, or JTF-WHEM, as a purpose-built joint task force that will provide unified command and control at the tactical and operational levels, while integrating military capabilities with the 18 partner nations of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, or A3C.

SOUTHCOM Media Relations Officer Steven McLoud told Military Times the activation of JTF-WHEM “represents an evolution from Operation Southern Spear,” reinforcing the command’s whole-of-government, multinational approach to defending the homeland while building on the successes of Operation Southern Spear.

McLoud said JTF-WHEM serves as SOUTHCOM’s “action arm,” focused on what he described as imposing “total systemic friction” against threats across the hemisphere.

He said the task force builds on Operation Southern Spear, which employed “precise kinetic strikes and maritime interdiction operations” to disrupt illicit trafficking and undermine entrenched criminal networks, by advancing efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat narcoterrorism networks.

According to McLoud, JTF-WHEM coordinates U.S. military actions targeting cartels and narcoterrorist networks while leveraging the commitment of Americas Counter Cartel Coalition member nations through expanded bilateral and multilateral cooperation in border security, countering threats and protecting critical infrastructure. He said enhanced cooperation and information sharing support the president’s national security strategy, the defense secretary’s national defense strategy and SOUTHCOM’s theater priorities.

According to SOUTHCOM, JTF-WHEM will serve as the command’s operational headquarters for executing missions across the region.

The command said the headquarters integrates intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, operational planning and multinational coordination while supporting intelligence sharing, combined training, interoperability, partner-capacity building and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

SOUTHCOM said the task force is intended to increase operational effectiveness against transnational criminal organizations and other threats affecting the United States and partner nations.

“JTF-WHEM strengthens our ability to work alongside trusted allies and partners, synchronize military capabilities and apply sustained pressure against the networks that threaten our collective security,” Donovan said in a statement. “Together, we are increasing security across the hemisphere and protecting our homeland.”

Donovan also said, “Together with the 18 nations of A3C, we are changing the way we confront these threats.”

Gen. Donovan selected Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin Jarrard to command the new task force. Jarrard most recently led U.S. military support to U.S. Department of State-led disaster relief operations following the June earthquakes in Venezuela.

Nearly a month later, some military families say the changes have made it harder to find information about child care, community programs and installation services.

Army Directive 2026-17, Optimizing Digital Media, required many subordinate units and installation organizations, including Army Community Service, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Child & Youth Services, military treatment facilities and other organizations to discontinue standalone Army social media accounts. Instead, those organizations are expected to communicate through higher-level command or installation accounts.

When introducing the directive in July, Army leaders said the changes would “ensure a clear, unified voice, reduce operational risk, and improve information access for Soldiers, Families and the public.”

During the first month of implementation, organizations across the Army, including Fort Bragg Army Community Service and U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Family and MWR, notified followers that their standalone social media pages would be closed and directed audiences to installation-level accounts for future updates.

This week, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, notified followers that its Instagram account would be managed by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington as part of its compliance with Directive 2026-17, reflecting the Army’s larger effort to centralize official communications.

Some military families said the transition has changed how they access day-to-day information.

LeAnn Nichols, an Army spouse, said the loss of organization-specific pages disrupted a network she relied on while searching for child care and staying connected with installation resources.

“Military families should never struggle to take advantage of the programs that are meant to support and empower our families,” Nichols said.

Nichols said that Army hospital and MWR pages had become one of the easiest ways for families to learn about available services and questioned why those accounts were removed.

“Statistics show many military families don’t take advantage of programs that they are eligible for, and could really use,” Nichols said. “Now it will be even more difficult to find the information we need on a regular basis.”

Nichols’ concerns come as child care continues to rank among the most significant quality-of-life challenges facing military families.

According to Blue Star Families’ Military Family Lifestyle Survey, one-third of active-duty family respondents identified child care as one of their top concerns. Among respondents experiencing child care challenges, 67% cited long waitlists or a lack of available spaces.

Michael Hanson, an Air Force spouse living in an Army community, said the consolidation has changed how his family experiences installation life.

“The installation feels like it’s gone dark,” Hanson said. “It’s back to COVID times where we’re all living in isolation. But even in isolation, we had social media to stay connected. With the military taking us all over the world, how can we not rely on the social highway?”

Army Directive 2026-17 allows commanders to request exceptions when they can demonstrate a mission-critical requirement that cannot be met through existing communication channels.

Military Times asked the Army how it is measuring whether the directive has improved information access and whether it has collected feedback on implementation. The publication also asked whether any exceptions have been approved, what communication channels it expects families to rely on in place of organization-specific social media pages, and whether the Army has collected data on the effectiveness of the new communication model in its first month.

The Army did not respond before publication.

In a letter shared exclusively with Military Times, the oversight committee’s ranking member, Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., ranking member of the Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide a complete record of every change made to the Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, involving Operation Epic Fury, “Overseas Operations” or any other category used to track casualties from hostilities with Iran. The lawmakers requested a response by Aug. 18.

The investigation follows questions raised after three U.S. soldiers killed in Jordan and one killed in Iraq were initially included in the Pentagon’s Iran war casualty total before being removed. Days later, the deaths reappeared under a new “Overseas Operations” category.

The new category has a stated start date of July 7, the same date the Trump administration said renewed military operations against Iran started a new 60-day period under the War Powers Resolution.

The lawmakers are seeking records explaining why those changes were made, the rules governing casualty classifications and any legal analysis underlying those decisions.

Garcia and Subramanyam also requested records documenting every change made to DCAS, the policies governing how deaths and injuries are assigned to operational categories and legal analyses related to a proposed expansion of the Defense Department’s authority to withhold certain controlled unclassified information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Taken together, the requests seek to examine how official casualty records are created, revised and publicly disclosed.

“The Pentagon appears to be lying about the casualties of fallen soldiers to continue justifying Donald Trump’s war of choice with Iran,” Garcia said in a statement announcing the investigation. “The American people deserve the truth about every life lost and soldier wounded in this illegal war.”

Subramanyam said the lawmakers are seeking transparency because the four service members “were killed in action during Trump’s war of choice in Iran” and “the Department of Defense should not play games and try to hide the true cost of this war.”

Unlike a July 29 letter led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that primarily focused on force protection and medical care following the March 1 attack at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, this inquiry seeks actual records related to the Pentagon’s casualty accounting process and public reporting.

The Defense Department declined to comment on either letter.

The agreements come as demand for Patriot and THAAD interceptors has increased following conflicts in Iran and Ukraine that strained U.S. missile inventories. They also come days after a Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis estimated the United States had depleted roughly two-thirds of its pre-war Patriot interceptor inventory during the conflict with Iran.

Defense officials said the agreements are intended to support the department’s long-term procurement objective of nearly 14,000 Patriot and THAAD interceptors by providing sustained demand signals to critical suppliers throughout the defense industrial base. The initiative is designed to triple production capacity for Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors and quadruple production capacity for THAAD interceptors.

DoD said it will work directly with key component suppliers instead of relying solely on prime contractors, encouraging investment in advanced tooling, facility modernization and workforce development needed to sustain higher production rates.

“Building the Arsenal of Freedom requires robust, dynamic supply chains at every level of the industrial base,” Michael P. Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said in a statement. “Framework agreements with munition components suppliers like Northrop Grumman are vital to accelerating the tripling of PAC-3 and quadrupling of THAAD interceptor production.”

The agreements establish a second source for Patriot solid rocket motors, expand production of ignition safety devices for PAC-3 interceptors and increase manufacturing capacity for key THAAD structural components, including mid-body shells, muzzle covers and rail car assemblies.

The initiative is part of the Defense Department’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy and was developed in coordination with the Missile Defense Agency, the Munitions Acceleration Council and the Economic Defense Unit to strengthen the resilience of the missile production supply chain.

In a July 29 letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined by four other Senate Democrats and eight House Democrats, requested answers by Aug. 12 to 23 questions concerning medical care, casualty reporting, force protection and ongoing investigations related to the attack.

Lawmakers say the Pentagon has not fully responded to an April letter raising concerns about force protection before the attack and has not provided Congress with the Army’s investigative findings.

Recent reporting has raised new questions about the medical care provided to injured service members after the attack, which killed six U.S. service members and wounded more than 30 others.

A Pentagon official declined to comment about the letter to Military Times.

The letter cites CBS News reporting that soldiers requested additional medical personnel and supplies before the attack and that those requests were ignored. It also cites reports that, after the strike, some wounded troops drove themselves to a hospital in Kuwait City before later being evacuated and that about two dozen service members were not flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany until nine days after the attack.

Lawmakers also referred to reporting that some wounded service members arrived in Germany without being identified as medical evacuees or seriously injured patients in Defense Department Casualty Analysis System, which the lawmakers said resulted in only limited treatment at Landstuhl. Deeper reporting cited reveals that some troops waited weeks after returning to Fort Hood, Texas, before being evaluated by physicians qualified to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries.

Among other questions, the lawmakers asked why requests for additional medical support before the attack were reportedly denied, how the Defense Department classifies serious and very serious injuries and how many service members have sustained traumatic brain injuries since Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28.

The request from lawmakers also asks the Pentagon to explain changes to publicly reported casualty figures during the conflict, provide updates on force protection measures at military installations across the Middle East, release the Army’s investigation into the Port Shuaiba attack and disclose whether additional Inspector General investigations are underway.

The March 1 attack at Port Shuaiba remains one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces during Operation Epic Fury. Reporting by The Washington Post, CBS News, The War Horse and Military Times have described concerns expressed by survivors and family members about force protection, casualty reporting and medical care following the attack.

The War Horse recently reported that medical records documented injuries including traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, burns, broken bones, hearing loss and shrapnel wounds among those wounded in the strike.