U.S. Military Struggles with Logistics and Readiness Amid Iran Conflict

U.S. officials familiar with operations in the Middle East said the war with Iran is placing the armed forces under severe strain, warning that continued pressure could impair the military’s ability to sustain operations. They cited a series of problems, including Iranian missile and drone attacks on bases and warships, dwindling stocks of defensive missiles, rising casualties, maintenance shortfalls on vessels, lengthy deployments, complex logistics, low morale and a constrained Pentagon budget.

One official described recent Iranian attacks on warships as a “go for broke” effort to increase economic pressure on the United States ahead of the midterm elections, adding that it was unclear which side would “blink first.” A second official called the notion of a U.S. occupation of Iran “almost impossible” and “nonsensical.”

The officials said the conflict’s early days saw a missile and drone strike on February 28 that destroyed Navy facilities in Manama, Bahrain, the region’s primary logistics hub. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao later acknowledged that the attack “blew the hell out of Bahrain,” and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle told a town-hall meeting that the base would not be restored soon.

A Wall Street Journal investigation estimated that rebuilding the Fifth Fleet headquarters and related infrastructure at Bahrain could cost over $400 million, a figure the officials suggested might be low. The loss of that hub, combined with the need to support a fleet of more than 24 ships—including two aircraft carriers—has forced the Navy to rely on the Indian Ocean base on Diego Garcia, extending supply lines to more than 2,000 miles and lengthening logistics cycles to 14-18 days.

“The situation is difficult and ultimately unsustainable,” said the second official, noting that assumptions that Iran would “crack” before the Navy have not been borne out. The Navy now operates with only 11 carrier strike groups, four of which are already deployed to the region, while several carriers undergo repairs that will keep them out of service for years.

Recent incidents have highlighted the strain on individual ships. The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford suffered a laundry-fire incident that halted sorties for two days and left hundreds of sailors without bunks, while ongoing plumbing problems have been reported. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln spent nine months at sea with limited port calls, prompting concerns about morale and safety among crew families.

Iranian forces continue to target U.S. installations across the Middle East, including bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Iraq. U.S. officials said more than 15 bases have been attacked, and that defensive missile stocks such as Patriot and THAAD interceptors have been heavily depleted, with only a fraction of pre-war inventories remaining.

Despite the challenges, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper told Congress that the United States has sufficient munitions for current operations, and later downplayed concerns about depleted stockpiles in a television interview, stating he was “not concerned at all.”