Several of the U.S. military’s most senior commanders privately warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonged operations against Iran could weaken America’s ability to respond to threats elsewhere, including dangers to the homeland, according to a classified Pentagon assessment.
Commanders responsible for U.S. forces in Europe, Asia and Latin America, along with the Navy’s top admiral, formally registered their disagreement with plans to keep significant military resources committed to the Middle East, according to reporting on the Aug. 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book.
The Washington Post reported that European Command, Pacific Command and Southern Command leaders, as well as the chief of naval operations, entered formal “non-concur” responses to the planned extensions. A non-concurrence means the commanders disagree with the decision while remaining obligated to carry it out.
The dispute centers on the resources required to sustain a US force of more than 50,000 troops kept on alert in the Middle East as the conflict with Iran continues.
Some deployments were ordered extended through September, while other forces could remain committed into 2027, according to people familiar with the classified assessment.
Military leaders reportedly warned that ships, surveillance aircraft and other assets have been shifted from commands around the world to support operations involving Iran.
The commanders overseeing Europe and Latin America specifically warned that surrendering some of those assets to US Central Command had degraded their ability to meet homeland-defense responsibilities, according to the Post.
The concerns were described as unusually direct.
While commanders routinely provide assessments of military risk, one person familiar with the deliberations said the outlook had become “more dire” as uncertainty surrounding the conflict continued.
Another source characterized the military’s assessment of the six-month conflict as “too much for too long.”
The Navy has faced particularly heavy demands.
Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, reportedly warned that only about one-quarter of the Navy’s destroyer fleet was ready to deploy, a significant decline from readiness levels before the conflict. Continued demands could also disrupt ship maintenance and reduce the fleet’s availability during another crisis.
The USS Abraham Lincoln has spent more than nine months deployed, including a reported 250 consecutive days at sea as the carrier has supported operations connected to the conflict.
The Daily Mail reported that conditions aboard the carrier have included shortages of food and hygiene supplies, damaged bathroom facilities and deteriorating living conditions, alongside reports of severe mental-health strain among some sailors.
Army and Air Force leaders did not uniformly oppose the extensions.
According to the classified assessment, leaders from those services supported the current deployment plan while warning that maintaining it carried substantial operational risks.
Elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division have also faced extended deployments, with some soldiers expected to remain mobilized for as long as a year.
The Pentagon pushed back strongly against the reporting.
“This fake news, poorly sourced reporting is full of inaccuracies, which is typical for the Washington Post,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
Parnell said Hegseth remained actively engaged with military services, the Joint Staff and combatant commanders to ensure US forces could deter adversaries, respond when necessary and maintain acceptable readiness levels.
He separately told the Post that decisions about force deployments are based on current threats, priorities established by President Donald Trump and military advice from top commanders. The Pentagon declined to discuss specific classified risk assessments or internal concurrences and non-concurrences.
The internal disagreement became public as Trump stepped up pressure on Iran.
Trump posted an AI-generated video to Truth Social depicting Iran’s strategically important Kharg Island engulfed in explosions, writing, “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!”
The footage did not depict a confirmed US attack. Reuters reported at the time that neither the White House nor Pentagon had announced such an operation, while independent analysis found the clip was AI-generated.
The conflict has continued escalating since the classified Pentagon disagreement was reported.
On Friday, Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships, according to US officials. The American vessels evaded the attacks and no US personnel were injured.
US forces subsequently struck three Iranian oil tankers that Central Command said were connected to a network generating revenue for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies.
Those latest exchanges underscore the challenge described in the Pentagon assessment: US commanders are preparing for the possibility of continued combat in the Middle East while warning that maintaining large-scale commitments there could leave fewer ships, aircraft and other resources available for crises elsewhere.
The commanders’ formal objections do not prevent Hegseth from carrying out the administration’s strategy, but they reveal significant internal concern among senior military leadership about how long the Pentagon can sustain the current pace without accepting greater risks in other regions.
