The Pentagon Inspector General’s first congressionally mandated review of "Operation Epic Fury" unveiled that U.S. forces have spent $33.4 billion in losses as of June 29, a figure that dwarfs earlier public estimates. The breakdown lists $22.3 billion spent on munitions, $7.4 billion on additional operating costs, and $3.7 billion on equipment losses, including dozens of aircraft and drones.
Images captured by CBS News from anonymous on‑field personnel show the wreckage of a Boeing E‑3 Sentry at Prince Sultan Air Base, a damaged Boeing 737‑800 on the tarmac at Camp Buehring, and shattered windows at Camp Arifjan. One service member told the network, "This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public," while another, referring to the Pentagon’s "squirters" terminology, added, "We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who earlier in March assured Washington that the U.S. could sustain the campaign, now faces a starkly different reality. In July he asked Congress for $67 billion in supplemental funding, warning that without it the Pentagon could "face critical shortfalls" that would jeopardise pay, replenishment and global operations.
The IG report also highlights strategic inventory shortfalls: shortages of solid‑rocket motors, high‑grade explosives, propellants and skilled manufacturing labor. Hegseth admits the defense industrial base requires significant lead time to expand production, a constraint that threatens the U.S. ability to maintain a strategic edge in the Gulf.
Public sentiment has hardened: a September Marquette poll found only 13 % of Americans believed U.S. war objectives had been achieved, while 79 % said the war had not been worth the cost. Amid these doubts, Congress is slated to hold a hearing on the supplemental appropriation next month, making the fate of the $67 billion request a critical turning point.
The next step is clear: the Defense Department will present the funding request to Congress on September 12, and lawmakers will decide whether to green‑light the additional budget before the war enters its eighth month.