Video obtained exclusively by CBS News documents Iranian missile, drone and fighter-jet attacks on Camp Buehring, a major American military installation in Kuwait, during the opening days of a war that began seven months ago. The footage, recorded by someone stationed at the base, shows explosions and structural damage that had not previously been made public, offering the clearest look yet at how exposed U.S. forces were in the conflict's early phase.
What the Footage Shows
The recordings capture ballistic missile and drone strikes along with what multiple witnesses identified as Iranian F-5 fighter jets flying low enough that one eyewitness said they could see the pilots' helmets. CBS News authenticated the material using embedded file metadata and cross-referenced it against separate photographs of damage at the base. The attacks struck buildings and military equipment at a facility that has served as a staging ground for American deployments across the Middle East for more than two decades.
A Base Left Thin on Defenses
Most of the roughly 7,000 troops normally stationed at Camp Buehring had already been relocated under a Pentagon strategy known informally as "getting off the X" - shifting forces away from predictable, vulnerable positions before offensive operations escalated. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in March that more than 90% of American personnel at risk had been moved. But more than 100 soldiers remained behind, and sources told CBS News the base ran critically low on .50-caliber ammunition as the strikes continued. A senior Army logistics official confirmed shortages extended to other high-value defensive systems, including Patriot missile batteries.
Soldiers eventually abandoned the base entirely, moving equipment under cover of night into Kuwait's Udari Desert, where they established forward operating positions. Conditions there brought their own hazards: two soldiers were injured by lightning during desert sandstorms, one suffering burns and the other a ruptured eardrum. No one was killed by enemy fire at Camp Buehring or the makeshift desert positions, though the episode raises pointed questions about readiness and reinforcement that sources say warrant formal review.
The Broader Toll Across the Region
Camp Buehring is one data point in a wider pattern. The Pentagon's inspector general reported equipment losses of up to $3.7 billion, including nearly 60 aircraft, in a mandatory accounting to Congress. The Congressional Research Service separately counted 81 fixed or rotary-wing aircraft, including drone assets, lost or damaged since February. Strikes were also reported at U.S. bases in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan - though photographic and video evidence of the damage has been scarce until now. CBS News has previously obtained images of damage at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and has reported on the war's deadliest strike against American troops, which killed six service members at the Port of Shuaiba.
Why the Silence Matters
Central Command declined to comment when contacted by CBS News, and the Pentagon referred only to Hegseth's earlier public remarks. That reticence is notable given the scale of losses now documented in official reports to Congress. For service members who say they were left exposed with dwindling ammunition, the absence of a public accounting feels like an unresolved question rather than a closed chapter - one that will likely shape how the military reviews basing strategy and force protection in future conflicts across the region.