The oldest soldier on base was a 28-year-old captain.
Fewer than 50 soldiers were manning the Patriot missile systems defending Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during Iran’s June 23 attack, and now military leadership is calling them the “unsung heroes of the 21st-century United States Army.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine addressed reporters during a June 26 news briefing at the Pentagon, following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s praise for the troops in the region.
According to Caine, news filtered in on June 23 that Iran planned to attack U.S. military bases in the region.
This came less than 48 hours after the United States dropped 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or “bunker buster” bombs, on Iranian nuclear sites during Operation Midnight Hammer.
Personnel in the area were previously moved to extend the perimeter of what would likely be the Iranian targets.
At the time, Al Udeid Air Base was equipped with two Patriot missile batteries for defense.
A Patriot battery is a mobile air missile defense system designed to detect and intercept incoming threats such as aircraft and missiles.
Each battery has multiple launchers and radar systems.
The base, which included U.S. Central Command forward headquarters for the Middle East, was defended by just 44 soldiers, according to Caine.
“The oldest soldier was a 28-year-old captain,” Caine told reporters.
“The youngest was a 21-year-old private who’d been in the military for less than two years.
“Imagine you’re that young first lieutenant. You’re 25 or 26 years old, and you’ve been assigned as the tactical director inside the command and control element. You, at that age, are the sole person responsible [for defending] this base.”
As evening approached, the Patriot battery teams received word to point their missiles north. Caine said the soldiers manning the base were aware that they would have just two minutes to respond to incoming threats.
At roughly 7:30 p.m. local time, Iran struck.
Reports vary as to how many missiles Iran fired, with some indicating 14 and others reporting as many as 19.
A Qatari military official said in the aftermath of the attack that only one missile hit the base. There were no casualties.
“There was a lot of metal flying around, and yet our U.S. air defenders had only seconds to make complex decisions with strategic impact,” Caine said.
The U.S. official said he believes that not only was this the “largest single Patriot engagement in U.S. military history,” but that it also demonstrates the combat capability and capacity of the U.S. Army air defenders.
“Simply stated, they absolutely crushed it,” he said.
“These awesome humans, along with their Qatari brothers and sisters in arms, stood between a salvo of Iranian missiles and the safety of Al Udeid. They are the unsung heroes of the 21st-century United States Army.”
