It's so much worse than people realize. That's what a US service member said about the war with Iran. Since February, the American public has been told very little about what's happening to our troops in the Middle East. There are no embedded journalists. Casualty details are coming out slowly and there are almost no images of the damage to American bases. That changes today because today I've obtained exclusive images working with Midas Touch and Valor Media Network to show never before published photos showing damage to US military installations in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. We also have firsthand accounts from service members, contractors, military families who were there. They described destroyed aircraft, bombed out barracks, troops digging out their own foxholes, and families hiding in parking garages while Iranian missiles flew overhead.
Before we start, a few things you should know. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they have been threatened repeatedly with discipline under the uniform code of military justice for speaking out or sharing images. In this video, I speak with two Valor Media correspondents, El Powers and What Inclination, who gathered these accounts. Some of the claims couldn't be independently verified, and I'll tell you when that's the case. The Pentagon has not publicly commented or confirmed several of the losses I'm about to describe. Make sure to like, comment, share because people need to see this, and this report will definitely ruffle some feathers. So, make sure to subscribe to support this work right now.
Many of these people have been to war before. Several deployed to combat zones in the past. Every one of them said, "This war was worse." Quote, "This is not a normal deployment," multiple sources said. They described a level of mismanagement that they had never seen. One service member said that they were called up in mid-February, told to ship right out right away on what was supposed to be a 3-week temporary assignment. When they got there, they were told it would be closer to 3 months. They ended up staying more than seven. Several said they had no advanced knowledge of Operation Epic Fury, the US campaign against Iran. Even though some of them were directly involved in it, they found out that the war had started the same way you and I did, from the news.
Quote, "We're sitting ducks," one of them said. "The threat in this war comes almost entirely from the sky. Drones, rockets, and ballistic missiles fired by an enemy troops they cannot see." One service member who described the Iranian drones that targeted their base like this: quote, "You can't see them at night. They have no lights, and our GPS navigated via coordinates. It sounds almost exactly like a small Cessna. Looks like large Falcon if it's about 400 ft up. We had no defense against the drones." We had no defense. Remember that line because we'll start in Saudi Arabia at the Prince Sultan Air Base. Images from service members and civilian contractors show devastation that we have never seen before. They show destroyed dining facilities and workplaces, damaged dorms where troops were living during strikes. One image stands out. It shows that bunkers the military provided to protect troops from drones and missiles had a door that wasn't even fully mounted.
This is some more of the destruction never before seen from the Saudi Arabian base. We also have aircraft burning on the tarmac after missile strikes. Aircraft completely destroyed after Iranian strikes. We also, I mean, this is real, this is directly has never been seen before. And then we also have Jordan where accounts are often much harder to kind of get from. Remember this isn't just one military base in the region. This isn't just Saudi Arabia. This isn't just Kuwait. This isn't just Jordan. It's all of them. And the information we're getting from Jordan is stunning. And I think that everyone needs to see some of the images I'm about to show you because they're never before seen publicly. Here's one image I'm about to pull up right here from Jordan.
Where service members at the Mufaok Salty Air Base described about 3 months of near constant incoming fire starting in March. One account said they were quote taking incoming fire so frequently that alarms couldn't keep up. Sources tell us that several US Air Force aircraft were damaged, including F-15s, F-35s, MQ9 Reaper drones, and helicopters, along with command and control facilities and critical infrastructure. The worst account is from the night of July 17th and July 18th, when sources telling Valor Media say Iranian ballistic missiles and drones got through the base's defense and hit US military barracks. Three service members were killed. Multiple others were reportedly evacuated.
Living conditions got worse as the strikes went on. Troops kept running out of basic supplies, especially hygiene items, and the base exchange was often closed during heavy fire. Housing areas were blown up twice. Near the end of the deployment, a hangar holding troops who were preparing to ship home took a direct hit, and their gear and personal belongings were destroyed. And then in July, they were told they were finally going home. They were sitting in the terminal waiting, waiting for their flight when they were ordered to stay. Many of them had already thrown away their bedding and hygiene items, and they couldn't replace them. One source told Valor Media, quote, "That really killed morale."
And then we move on to Kuwait, another place where there have been damage that was not previously reported, damage that you need to be aware of in real time. Kuwait is another base in the region. It's been described as what many say a quote abandoned camp. This is some of the destruction that we're seeing from Kuwait that's never before seen. As you can see, buildings, medic stops essentially damaged and destroyed. The airport was hit and closed. Families had to find their own way out. Sources told Valor Media that some pay tens of thousands of dollars to get their families to safety, leaving behind pets, furniture, and spouses they didn't know if they'd ever see again.
Also, senior leaders were evacuated under what was described as a training exercise and that some of them were able to warn their own families. Other families were left behind for more than a week. That's in Bahrain. In Kuwait, some of these photos that we're seeing, service members went into hotels and had to find their own food, in some cases by ordering takeout. Others were told that they had no protection at all, dug their own foxholes in Kuwait and in the UAE. Think about that for a second. American troops in 2026, serving under the most expensive military in human history, ordering takeout and digging holes in the sand to survive. They described their leadership as rudderless. That's what's happening right now, and no one at any point was coming to help.
These images have never been seen before and I need you to share the word, spread the word. I spoke with El Powers and What Inclination, the two correspondents who really got a lot of this and spoke with these sources and continue to speak with service members because we are about to go back into war with Iran very soon. And that's why you need to hear directly from L and Clay. I'm going to start with L right here. Before I do, make sure to subscribe, support this work. My conversation with L. Excited today to be joined by El Garcia Powers, who's a correspondent with the Valor Media Network and a content creator herself. I want to talk to you about your latest reporting on what you're seeing in the Middle East. I think oftentimes the news cycle moves so quickly that people just kind of move on from what we're seeing in the Middle East. But there's a lot that the American public hasn't been told yet. Am I correct?
Yes, you are. The extent of the damage and how our service members and contractors and families have been treated in this whole experience of Epic Fury and the war with Iran.
Well, I want to talk more about that and kind of break it up. Starting with the service members, based on the service members you've spoken to, what are they telling you about the extent of the damage in the Middle East that Americans at home may not be realizing?
So if we start in Kuwait, specifically on Buring, it's a total loss is what they tell me. Bahrain as well. We can't get back into Bahrain. I think there's already been reporting on that. The damage I've heard from individuals that like 25% of their buildings on smaller places have been destroyed. They've lost their housing multiple times and it's just the extent of this damage, as we'll see in the pictures, is not what is being disclosed by this administration. It is much worse.
Why do you think that is? Do you think, I mean, because I hear the argument oftentimes from service members saying, "Well, we don't want to disclose a lot of this stuff because it gives kind of aid to the enemy, right? Then Iran could use this as propaganda and say, 'We're actually destroying a lot more than we are.'" Why do you think they're concealing it from the American public?
Probably just so we aren't aware how bad things have gone. It is odd to try to hide it so much when, you know, we've all seen the satellite imagery. We know that there's destruction, so they could be open and honest about this stuff and they're not.
Yeah. No, I hear you. And what about, I guess, the family members of these service members? How are they being treated by the military right now?
So there's twofold here. We can talk about Bahrain and how those family members were left behind. One of my sources... So they evacuated some senior leaders. There was recently some reporting in MSNBC with that, and my sources have echoed this sentiment. There was a group of more senior leaders who were evacuated out of country under the guise of it being a training exercise, and while they're on the plane it was like, psych, we're getting you out of country. And then their families were left behind to protect themselves, and other service members who were left behind basically had to take these family members and hide them during the initial wave of these attacks.
There was a bunch of family members that were hidden in a parking garage of a mall, protected by the forces of our host nations and not us, like is supposed to be done.
Yes, and they were just hung out to dry with their kids, and kids experiencing the same type of combat I experienced when I was in Iraq, which is insane. Not since Pearl Harbor have families been placed at such risk, so close to risk.
And then I can talk about the spouses that were left behind when their spouses were deployed forward.
So one account I've gotten is that it was a last-minute thing. This service member was specifically sent for Epic Fury. They found out after the fact, oh, this is what I'm here for. You know, they were told that they were going to go on a temporary duty assignment. When they got in country, they're like, "Oh, it's going to be more like three months," and then that turned into seven months. Three months under extreme hostile fire. And the spouses were just continually placated. They did little activities with them like, "Oh, let's make a video." It's kind of normal stuff for spouses when they're back home, but they made like this, oh, we miss you, we love you, type of video that their spouses never saw. It was kind of just like a show and dance to keep them, you know, placated.
They were continually told, "Oh, they were resupplied," when they weren't. You know, just downplaying everything. We've seen it in these town halls from the Navy. Everything's just been downplayed, and that it's echoed with my sources.
Do service members and their families feel abandoned by this administration right now?
Absolutely. Specifically with the initial — invade Iraq veteran here, sorry — but with the initial Epic Fury operation, no one was expecting that.
Mhm. And they felt like, you know, when we go into war, we usually know what's happening. We know what our operation is, right?
These were — they've often said, we felt like no one had our back. No one was coming to help us. And I never, as an Iraq war veteran, never felt like I was not protected. So, it's just not normal.
Right now, we're seeing more service members being deployed in real time to the Middle East, and I feel like there's not much reporting about it because of the elections and everything else. Is there a concern from folks you talk to that the war is going to escalate again?
Absolutely. It's scary. Once in a while, I'll get messages from them. And I'd like to put out there, I feel like these are my guys. I kind of got pulled right back into — I was a human resources specialist. I took care of humans. So I sometimes will get a cryptic message like, oh, it's bad right now, or this or that.
And they feel like after the election it could escalate. Right now it's been quiet this week, and I think that is because of elections. They're trying to keep it quiet, but, you know, they get concerned that from March to July will happen again like we saw back when all that happened.
L, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much for your reporting. If people want to support you, follow you, where should they go?
I am active on Instagram at L Queen of Rags. I have a link tree that's Queen of Rags. You can find me most places and of course at Valor Media.
