Military

Hegseth Demurs on Possible US Military Action Against Iran Amid Trump Saber-Rattling

Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sidestepped questions Wednesday about possible American military action against Iran as President Donald Trump continued to dangle the idea of the U.S. getting directly involved in Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Hegseth was asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., whether U.S. military action is being considered.

"Most of what I can or should say would be reserved for a classified setting," Hegseth responded. "Obviously, any decisions on this matter are at the presidential level."

Pressed again by Shaheen on whether he's been asked to provide Trump with military options, Hegseth said he "wouldn't disclose that in this forum."

"Our job -- the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] and I -- at all times is to make sure the president has options, is informed of what those options might be, and what the ramifications of those options might be," he added.

The hearing -- Hegseth's fourth and final appearance before Congress in a week -- came as Israel and Iran have been exchanging missile fire in a conflict that is raising fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.

Late last week, Israel began its largest-ever military operation against Iran in a move that it maintains is necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The operation has killed top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists, and damaged key nuclear facilities.

Iran, which maintains its nuclear program is peaceful -- and which U.S. intelligence publicly assessed ^[2] as recently as March as not having decided to build a nuclear weapon -- has responded with its own missile barrages against Israel.

Israel has reportedly been pushing the U.S. to join its campaign against Iran, particularly by providing its so-called bunker-buster bomb, called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, to demolish Iran's underground Fordo nuclear enrichment facility.

That bomb can be dropped only by U.S. B-2 Spirit ^[3] aircraft, which would put U.S. troops directly into the conflict.

Asked Wednesday whether destroying Fordo would lengthen or shorten the overall conflict, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, who was testifying alongside Hesgseth, demurred.

"I can't split that hair, given the complexities of the war that's ongoing there," Caine said.

For his part, Trump has been both cryptic and threatening about his intentions.

At the same time Hegseth was testifying Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he "may do it or [he] may not" strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

"Nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump said.

The president also revealed that Iran recently reached out to try to negotiate, but suggested the time may have passed for negotiations.

"I said it's very late to be talking," Trump said. "There's a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference."

During his first term, Trump tore up a nuclear deal with Iran that had been negotiated by former President Barack Obama. Prior to Israel's strikes on Iran last week, he was trying to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran, a deal that reportedly was poised ^[4] to look very similar to the one he scuttled.

Trump's Wednesday comments came after a series of saber-rattling posts on his Truth Social social media website Tuesday. Among his posts, he said that "we" -- seemingly implying U.S. involvement -- "now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran." He also posted a demand for "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

Despite the posts, U.S. officials said Tuesday the military remained ^[5] in a defensive posture.

Asked Wednesday about his call for unconditional surrender from Iran, Trump said the post meant that "I've had it. OK, I've had it. I give up. No more."

Iran has threatened retaliation if the U.S. gets involved in the conflict. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that "any military involvement by the U.S. in this field will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage for them," according to The Associated Press ^[6].

Any Iranian retaliation could put the thousands of U.S. troops spread across the Middle East in the crosshairs, and The New York Times reported Tuesday ^[7] that Iran is preparing for strikes on U.S. bases in the region if the U.S. joins Israel's military campaign.

The escalating conflict has alarmed some in Congress. Earlier this week, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced a resolution in the Senate and Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a resolution in the House that would prevent U.S. military action against Iran without explicit congressional approval.

Defense hawks, though, are cheering on Israel's operations and pushing for U.S. involvement.

"Iran's military and leadership is in complete disarray right now because of the bold actions by Israel," Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, before pressing Hegseth on whether now is the time to "reestablish deterrence against this terrorist regime by making sure one way or the other they never have the capacity to enrich or produce a nuclear bomb."

Hegseth responded by noting Trump previously gave Iran a 60-day deadline to either agree to a nuclear deal or face military action.

"At the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options, and that's precisely what we're doing," Hegseth said. "The question is, in the coming days, exactly which direction that goes."

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Nursing Staff Shortages Disrupt Infusion Clinic Operations at Walter Reed

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda Md.

Staffing shortages continue to plague the U.S. military's flagship hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, leading to the disruption of services this month in the nephrology infusion clinic at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

A Walter Reed spokeswoman said Thursday that two nurses at the clinic, which provides infusion services for kidney, some gastroenterology and other department patients, went on emergency leave, forcing hospital leaders to shift staff from other areas of the hospital to support clinic operations.

Ricardo Reyes, a public affairs officer at Walter Reed, said no appointments were canceled and "all patients scheduled for this week have been rescheduled."

A patient said that late last week they were notified by staff that the clinic would be closed for two weeks and told to make alternate arrangements.

The patient said they were shifted to Fort Belvoir ^[2] Community Hospital, which also has a limited number of staff to support infusions and is a 90-minute drive during most times of the day from Walter Reed.

"We are working to make sure next week's scheduled patients are covered," Reyes said in an email to Military.com on Wednesday. "This is a temporary situation, and we expect to be back to normal operations later this month."

An April 2024 Defense Department report to Congress said that the facility was staffed at just 79% of its authorized number of personnel, with nurses having the lowest staffing rate at 68%.

To address the issue, the Defense Health Agency launched an effort with the medical commands of the military services to develop a Human Capital Distribution Plan, or HCDP, to determine the requirements at all medical and dental facilities to ensure that the facilities were adequately supported by military personnel as well as civilian and contract staff.

In its report to Congress on Walter Reed, Defense Health Agency officials said the HCDP would give the facility the means to fill its empty jobs.

"The HCDP ... will provide Military Health System leaders a way, and the means, to provide military and civil service authorizations filled by the right person, at the time they are needed, achieving great outcomes for our beneficiaries," the report stated.

The Defense Department awarded contracts worth up to $43 billion in May 2024 to 11 health care staffing companies to provide contract medical staff as well as support at military treatment facilities and other federal hospitals and clinics in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

According to the Defense Health Agency, under the agreements, known as the Medical Q-Coded Support and Services Next Generation contracts, the companies are to provide dental, nursing, physician and medical support staff to augment DoD civilian employees and military personnel at those hospitals and clinics.

Last year, Karen Ruedisueli, director of government relations for health affairs at the Military Officers Association of America, noted that staffing shortfalls at Walter Reed "could reverberate" across the military health system because not only is it considered a premier medical center, it is responsible for training the next generation of military doctors, with 53 graduate medical programs for the Army ^[3], Navy ^[4] and Air Force ^[5].

"MOAA supports the DoD's revised strategy to stabilize the military health system ^[6] and improve MTF [military treatment facilities] staffing so MHS [the military health system] can fulfill both readiness and beneficiary care missions," Ruedisueli wrote.

In an opinion piece published earlier this month ^[7], acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Stephen Ferrara pledged to work with department leadership to ensure that the military health system has what it needs to serve patients and train physicians.

"Military medicine is a no-fail mission. I'm confident that our success will continue to reinforce the strength that sustains the peace. But should the peace be broken ... our preparation will ensure we break the Walker Dip streak," Ferrara wrote, referring to the decline in combat medical skills following the end of a period of war.

Walter Reed is undergoing a multiyear renovation and expansion project, with a new five-story, 533,000-square-foot facility that opened this spring to house operating rooms and ambulatory procedure rooms, women's health, the Mother Infant Care Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, dentistry, and dozens of other clinics and services.

A new building, slated to open in 2028, will house optometry, patient transport, the American Red Cross and administrative offices, according to facility officials.

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