FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC, September 25, 2026 National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) today called on the Pentagon to provide a full and accurate public accounting of every U.S. service member killed, wounded, or injured during military operations related to the war with Iran, saying “the inability to accurately count even the number of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us betrays the incompetence and lack of planning with which the Trump Administration pursued this war.”
A recent Washington Post report cited six U.S. officials who said at least 22 service members had died in the Middle East since February 28, compared with 18 listed in the Pentagon’s public casualty database as of September 18. The Post also reported that more than 820 service members had been wounded in action. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disputed the report, but the Department has not publicly reconciled the figures or provided sufficient details to explain the discrepancy.
“NSL4A mourns every service member who has died while serving in the region,” said retired Navy Rear Admiral Michael Smith, NSL4A’s founder and president. “Their families deserve clear information about the circumstances of their loss. The Trump Administration’s inability to prepare the nation or our troops for war has led to foreseeable and preventable pain that all Americans are feeling. And military families are feeling it worst of all.”
“We have warned for months that scarce Pentagon briefings and the absence of embedded reporters are leaving Americans without a clear picture of this war,” said retired Marine Colonel David Lapan, a former Department of Defense spokesperson and NSL4A member. “The Department must follow the law and longstanding policies to clearly account for each casualty—those killed, wounded, or injured. If the Pentagon’s civilian political leadership cannot or will not provide a clear accounting, they should at least allow embedded reporters to provide the facts that they won’t.”
NSL4A calls on the Department to reconcile its internal and public records; publish accurate and timely casualty totals; explain its classifications and any changes in reporting methods; and account for any delays or omissions. For every death, the Department should release the basic information traditionally provided in casualty announcements—including the service member’s name, rank, age, hometown, and unit—and enough information to explain how the death was classified. Congress should receive a complete accounting of the human cost of this war.
About National Security Leaders for America
National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A) is a nonpartisan network of over 1,500 senior national security professionals—retired admirals, generals, senior enlisted leaders, intelligence officers, diplomats, and civilian service officials—from across the political spectrum who are united in defense of American democracy. Founded in 2021, NSL4A is a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for democratic values, institutions, and leaders who uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Our members offer expert, real-world insights on the national security implications of election integrity, civil-military relations, and democratic resilience.
Media Contact: CommDirector@nsl4a.org
Important call for minimum transparency about facts surrounding the maximum price paid by patriotic Americans in service to their country. A bare minimum, I would say.
But the tone of restraint pervading this call, however understandable, fails to take into account the new baseline reality we face in the second Trump administration. That is, the flagrant ways the administration writ large--and Hegseth's Pentagon in particular--consciously and deliberately flout longstanding policies and past practices with respect to a free press's role in our democracy, including in covering our (misbegotten or otherwise) wars. For example, removing the established press corps from the Pentagon, making it all but impossible for reporters to cover the war (whether they are embedded or not), firing the editors of Stars and Stripes, etc. etc., all this suggests a clear plan to thwart accurate media coverage from the start.
To what end?
My own answer is pretty simple. The administration's intention, across the board including but not only in our military ventures, has been to prevent factual reality from breaking through the fake narrative they have built about making American great again. In fact, the assault on the sources and wellsprings of American greatness has been as relentless as it has been systematic. Accurate reporting would obviously challenge that effort. I welcome any and all considered challenges to this assertion.