Nearly five months have passed, and more than 440 U.S. service members have been injured in the Middle East since the last time War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed the media on the state of the Iran war.
asserted
Hegseth → pass → war
The last time they took the podium in the Pentagon Briefing Room was on May 5.
uncertain
they → take → May
It had been about a month since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, and it occurred as U.S. forces were carrying out a blockade of Iranian ports while trying to assist commercial vessels in transiting the Strait of Hormuz without coming under Iranian attack, which U.S. troops are still doing now.
asserted
troops → announce → which
The Pentagon’s public casualty tracker, known as the Defense Casualty Analysis System, reports that as of Wednesday, more than 860 U.S. troops have been injured in the war.
asserted
troops → know → war
Ninety-five U.S. service members in the Middle East have been injured in Iranian attacks this month alone.
asserted
members → injure → attacks
Zero service members were injured in August, while 348 troops were wounded in July.
asserted
troops → injure → July
The database does not specify the severity of a person’s injuries or where they sustained their wounds.
asserted
they → specify → wounds
Pentagon leaders have not provided details, either, of recent attacks on U.S. forces that account for the nearly 100 injuries this month alone.
asserted
that → provide → injuries
Eight Marines were injured in a reported Sept. 14 attack on a maritime vessel, all of whom returned to duty shortly thereafter, NBC reported.
asserted
NBC → injure → duty
The military has not confirmed that this attack took place or that Marines were wounded in it.
asserted
Marines → confirm → it
U.S. Central Command said on Sept. 8 that Iranian forces “targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days,” and “no American personnel were harmed.”
asserted
personnel → say → days
It also said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer on Sept 5, but all “IRGC attempts against U.S. Navy warships have failed.”
asserted
attempts → say → warships
CENTCOM did not respond to a request for comment regarding recent attacks on U.S. forces.
asserted
CENTCOM → respond → forces
The Pentagon directed the Washington Examiner to CENTCOM when reached for comment.
asserted
Pentagon → direct → comment
In total, the DCAS reports 861 U.S. personnel sustained injuries since the military started the war on Feb. 28.
asserted
military → report → Feb.
More than half of those injuries occurred after Trump announced the April ceasefire.
asserted
Trump → occur → ceasefire
Hegseth has taken a handful of questions at public events with the media that’s selected to travel with him.
asserted
that → take → him
When asked by the Washington Examiner in Wisconsin in late August about a previous increase in casualty numbers, the secretary said, “I can tell you that databases play catch-up sometimes.
asserted
databases → ask → up
Nineteen U.S. service members have been killed during the war, according to the DCAS, following the death of Capt. Bianca Wilkerson, 37, of Norfolk, Virginia, an Army officer who experienced a medical emergency Sept. 18 while flying to the Middle East.
uncertain
who → kill → East
Two other service members died of noncombat injuries in the Middle East since the war began, and their deaths are not listed in the DCAS category for the Iran war.
asserted
deaths → die → war
Sgt. Devin Seibel died in Erbil, Iraq, on May 31 in a training exercise while Maj. Sorffly Davis died after sustaining a medical emergency in Kuwait and died on March 6.
uncertain
Davis → die → March
The military has long faced questions during wartime about the push-and-pull between transparency and operational security.
asserted
military → face → transparency
“I think the American people deserve to understand what the cost of war is, and public reporting on our casualties should be done as fast as possible,” retired Gen. Joseph Votel told the Washington Examiner.
asserted
Votel → think → Examiner
Votel, who served as the commander of CENTCOM about a decade ago, noted that social media has made the subject of verification and transparency “more difficult.”
asserted
subject → serve → verification
“I think it is more difficult to operate in this information-heavy environment,” he said.
asserted
he → think → environment
“Oftentimes, the media or the internet reports on activities before we have an opportunity to confirm the facts.
asserted
we → report → facts
This is not new, and it is something we contended with in Iraq and Afghanistan.
asserted
we → contend → Iraq
We want to be fast, but we also want to be as accurate as possible with the public.”
asserted
we → want → public
The Aporia
