30 Lawmakers Write to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Demanding Answers on Bahrain Evacuation of Military Families
Thirty members of the U.S. Congress wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on November 2 demanding answers and corrective action over the treatment of servicemembers and families evacuated from Naval Support Activity Bahrain (NSA Bahrain) in March. The letter was co-led by Rep. Chris Deluzio, Rep. Pat Ryan and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and its signatories are members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees or the Democratic Veterans Caucus; Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, is among them.
NSA Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and is a critical logistics hub for U.S. Central Command, home to roughly 8,300 military personnel, Defense Department civilians and their families. The lawmakers wrote that families were authorized to evacuate only after the Iran war began on February 28, subjecting them to Iranian retaliatory strikes that heavily damaged the base, and that since the March evacuation many families have been living in hotels and short-term rentals and paying expenses out of pocket. The department's safe haven living allowances are scheduled to end in November or after the 180th day of receipt, before many families have found permanent housing or received their household goods, and the Navy's request to extend the entitlements was denied by department leadership.
The lawmakers asked Hegseth to answer by November 13 why the extension was denied and who made the decision, how evacuees can be reimbursed and how many claims are pending, and how the severe damage to the base has affected U.S. operations in the Iran war and the wider Middle East, including repair plans and costs. The letter follows MS NOW reporting that detailed the hardships faced by the evacuated families.
(Source: Office of Rep. Chris Deluzio)
Source: Office of Rep. Chris Deluzio
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：国防部长Pete Hegseth（左）在Fort Benning与军人握手。U.S. Secretary of Defense 摄，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) shaking hands with a soldier at Fort Benning. By U.S. Secretary of Defense, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
