'Work from Home' for US soldiers? Iran attacks damaged their Gulf bases so much that some now operate from hotels, remote locations: Report

A New York Times report has claimed that many American troops in West Asia were forced to relocate to hotels and office spaces throughout the Gulf region after Iran bombed their bases. Citing military personnel and American officials, the report said that the land-based US military is, in essence, fighting the war while working remotely. The only exceptions are fighter pilots and crews operating and maintaining jets and conducting strikes, it said.

US bases in Gulf region now vulnerable due to Iran bombardment

In response to the joint US-Israel strikes since February 28, Iran has launched missile strikes on US bases across the Middle East. With their bases now vulnerable, many troops have been dispersed or relocated to “alternative” locations.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has urged civilians to report US troop locations.

Thousands of US troops are now dispersed

Thoudands out of of the nearly 40,000 US troops in the region have now been dispersed, some even to Europe. Many remain in the Middle East in less secure, improvised locations, as per the NYT report.

One official said this shift has made the war “much harder to prosecute,” reducing operational capability.

How exactly are American troops operating remotely?

According to the report, US troops are operating in a operating in a dispersed, improvised network, instead of centralised bases. They have set up “expedient operation centres” in hotels, office buildings, and other temporary facilities across the region. They continue to carry out core tasks like intelligence analysis, targeting, coordination of strikes, and command-and-control functions using portable and scaled-down systems, said the report.

Warfighting from remote locations is not a feasible option

The paper quoted Retired Air Force specialist Wes J Bryant as saying: “You can’t just put all that equipment on the top of a hotel… Some of it is unwieldy.”

“You’re absolutely going to lose capability.”

Iran’s ballistic capabilities rendered traditional US bases unsafe

The ballistic missile and drone capabilities were on full display in Iran during this conflict,

reflecting poor prewar planning. The US did not anticipate it or evacuate nonessential personnel.

The facilities were not reinforced and US troops were not prepared or did not have the right equipment ahead of the Iran strikes. At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, a lack of reinforced structures contributed to casualties in an attack, said the NYT report.

Refuelling tankers were deployed hastily with minimal preparation. And a collision between two KC-135 aircraft killed six service members over Iraq.

US military is capable of decentralised execution, but it comes with costs

The US military can continue operations even when dispersed. As one official told the paper, “down to the last individual soldier, we’re still going to be operating.” But still, there are some tradeoffs in this scenario.
The remote setup limits war effectiveness as critical equipment cannot be fully deployed in such spaces as much as at established military bases.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.