Billy Key is a U.S. Army major and operations planner who has served for more than 20 years. He worked for the commanding general of the Army Reserve's 103rd Sustainment Command, according to the Associated Press.
Case
Soldiers wounded in the March 1 Iranian drone strike at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, say they lacked drone defenses and faced delayed care. Hegseth called the drone a "squirter" that hit a fortified site, and the Army has not released its investigation.
Role at the time: U.S. Army major and operations planner for the commander of the 103rd Sustainment Command, wounded in the March 1 strike
Response to this claim
Officers told the Associated Press that the generals who moved the unit to Port Shuaiba knew it lacked defenses against drones, and that intelligence officers had warned them it was a likely secondary target for Iran.
“Kuwait was just too close, that’s the bottom line”
The reference point is whether the military failed the soldiers at Port Shuaiba in protecting them or in caring for the wounded. Key says the unit should not have been in Kuwait, that the command rejected safer sites, and that the work "could have been anywhere," an express criticism of the decision that exposed the soldiers. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, but he offers no support for the decision. Evidence: direct quotations in an Associated Press report.
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
