Skip to content
ThreadOut
Pat Ryan 🇺🇸@PatRyanUC · Aug 28, 2026

I served 27 months in combat in Iraq as an Army Intelligence Officer. 6 months into Trump’s disastrous war in Iran,…

13 tweets2 min read♥ 5.3Koriginal

Summary

A former Army Intelligence Officer who served 27 months in Iraq criticizes Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's handling of the ongoing Iran conflict, citing 18 American deaths, hundreds wounded, failed military strategy, and mismanagement of Pentagon resources. The author calls for Hegseth's removal, highlighting his dismissal of soldier concerns, poor defense against drone attacks, and wasteful spending on legacy weapons systems.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    I served 27 months in combat in Iraq as an Army Intelligence Officer. 6 months into Trump’s disastrous war in Iran, here’s what’s clear to me: The situation has devolved into a full-on FIASCO. And we are not winning. The Pentagon needs a reset – starting with Pete Hegseth.🧵

  2. #2

    Trump dodged the draft 5 times. He started this war with no plan, no clue what it means to serve, and the worst SecDef in history running the Pentagon. Now, 18 American heroes are dead. Hundreds more are wounded. 50,000+ are still in theater. And where’s Hegseth?

  3. #3

    From Day 1, Hegseth’s tenure has been a complete & total disaster. He’s fired 4-star Generals. Lied about his mistakes. Repeatedly failed to protect the troops he’s responsible for – and refused to take a shred of accountability. Let’s review the past 6 months.

  4. #4

    American troops are fighting an actual war. Facing extended deployments. Burying their friends. And Hegseth is hollowing out our most battle-tested and proven Pentagon leaders. It’s not just stupid — it’s dangerous. Our troops are less safe.

  5. #5

    Look at Port Shuaiba. March 1st. Six servicemembers killed, dozens more injured in the deadliest strike of this war. Hegseth called it a fluke. Said the drone “squeaked through” fortified defenses. Said 90% of the wounded were “minor injuries.”

  6. #6

    The survivors told me a different story: They were sent to a known target. Denied additional force protection. Forced to drive themselves – with concussions, lung damage, hearing & vision loss – to a civilian hospital.

  7. #7

    “We’re not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend [they] didn’t happen,” said one survivor of the attack. Hegseth’s response? “Gotcha” politics.

  8. #8

    It’s not just that Hegseth called the survivors liars. It’s that he refuses to learn from deadly mistakes. His Pentagon continues to pour billions into the same legacy platforms & expensive weapons systems while cheap Iranian drones penetrate our systems & kill our soldiers.

  9. #9

    So we’re failing to compete in modern warfare, and blowing through critical defenses that will take our archaic system years to build back up.

  10. #10

    Trump said it would take “4 to 5 weeks” to achieve the war’s objectives. 6 months. 18 lives lost and hundreds injured. $100+ billion spent. Our munitions supply dangerously low. And he and Hegseth have nothing to show for it. Zero objectives achieved.

  11. #11

    The American people can’t afford to foot the bill any longer – and we shouldn’t have to. Hegseth requested a record-breaking $1.5 trillion for his department this year. The Pentagon needs an audit. Not a blank check.

  12. #12

    And it needs new leadership. Real leadership. Not a leader who, mid-war, uses a taxpayer-funded plane to campaign for a promotion while servicemembers he’s responsible for are in the blast radius.

  13. #13

    I was on the receiving end of some absolutely disastrous foreign policy in Iraq. I ran for Congress to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. No more forever wars. No more coverups. FIRE HEGSETH.