A U.S. General Waited for Iran's Last Satellite Picture of Al Asad #iran #militaryhistory

In January 2020, Iran was watching Al Asad Air Base in Iraq through commercial satellite images. Nothing on the base could shoot down a ballistic missile. Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of U.S. Central Command would not begin the evacuation until he was sure Iran had that day's last picture — move too early, he explained, and Iran might change its plans; too late, and he would look like the commanders at Pearl Harbor. From the airmen's own accounts, the Alaska National Guard's story of the rescue flights, CENTCOM's unclassified drone footage and 60 Minutes, this short traces the hours between that picture and the first missile: a squadron of 160 split 80 and 80, three radar controllers kept on the scope, and a rescue HC-130J that came back for the last 60 people. By CENTCOM's count, 51 airplanes and helicopters were flown out before the strike. The first missile hit at 1:34 a.m.; by the Pentagon's count, 11 Iranian ballistic missiles struck Al Asad. No one was killed; within five weeks the Pentagon had reported 109 service members with traumatic brain injuries, all classified as mild. The whole night — the warning, the evacuation window, the bunkers between volleys and the injury count that came after — is in the main film (about 12 minutes): [main film link — added after upload] Sources · David Martin — “Inside the attack that almost sent the U.S. to war with Iran,” CBS News 60 Minutes, February 28, 2021 · David Martin and Mary Walsh — “Who would live and who would die: The inside story of the Iranian attack on Al Asad Airbase,” CBS News 60 Minutes Overtime, February 28, 2021 · Capt. Lauren Hill and Tech. Sgt. Anthony Hyatt (eds.) — “American Airmen's Accounts of Iranian Missile Attacks” (January 2020), U.S. Air Forces Central Command, released April 7, 2020 · Maj. David Bedard — “Arctic Guardians Honored for Al Asad Evacuation,” Alaska National Guard Public Affairs, February 22, 2023 · U.S. Central Command — “Al Asad TBM attack,” unclassified drone footage of the strikes, DVIDS 785331, March 1, 2021 · CNN — “Iran missile attack: US troops sheltered in Saddam-era bunkers,” January 13, 2020 · U.S. Department of Defense — press briefings by Secretary Esper and Gen. Milley, January 8 and January 30, 2020 (transcripts) · Diana Stancy — “109 US troops diagnosed with TBI after Iran missile barrage says Pentagon in latest update,” Military Times, February 10, 2020 · Copernicus Sentinel-2 — satellite image of Al Asad, January 7, 2020 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2020) · Headline shown: Stars and Stripes, February 10, 2020 The 3D scenes are a directed reconstruction built from the records with carved models, not footage of the events. The narration is a synthetic voice. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. #shorts #AlAsad #Iran #CENTCOM #USAirForce #BallisticMissiles #MilitaryHistory #SANDTABUL SANDTABUL · Warfare, set out on the sand table. Battles, operations and the machines of war, re-staged in carved 3D and placed in the world that shaped them.