Joey Amor, whose wife was among six U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in March, confronted Vice President Vance during a CBS News town hall, accusing the military of "fundamental failures" that contributed to the tragedy.
Amor, the husband of Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, detailed the attack that also claimed the lives of five other service members. He argued that while the Iranian drone was the direct cause, multiple errors and oversights preceded the strike.
"They raised their right hand and they gave an oath. They understood what they were doing. They understood the sacrifice that they were potentially giving," Amor said. "Though the Iranian drone was the weapon that killed my wife, there were a lot of mistakes and a lot of fundamental failures that led up to that."
He went further, suggesting that information about the incident had been suppressed. "My wife has told me things before she passed. There are other soldiers that know things that are being quiet about certain aspects of this," he said. "There's a failure in the leadership, and I want to know how this administration is going to start holding those leaders accountable for the actions and the deaths of the soldiers that we honor and that we love."
Vance responded that this was "literally the first time I've heard of this," acknowledging the isolation of his role. "This job is an amazing honor, but you live in a bit of a bubble," he said. "That sometimes information doesn't filter up to me, and I promise you, I will take every single failure extremely seriously, and we'll work on it."
The strike hit a tactical operations center in Kuwait, a triple-wide trailer protected only by T-walls—12-foot-tall concrete barriers designed to deflect ground-level blasts, not overhead attacks. Military officials told CBS News they did not recall hearing warning sirens before the strike, leaving troops no time to reach bunkers.
The incident has fueled criticism of the administration's handling of the conflict with Iran. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed Vance's response, saying he "wrongly defended this war. His compassion doesn't fix it."
Vance's appearance comes as Republicans face a tough political climate ahead of the midterms, with the war effort against Iran deeply unpopular among Americans. The Pentagon recently updated the U.S. death toll in the conflict to 21.
In related developments, Iran's foreign minister has warned against further U.S. strikes, and Ukraine launched a record drone barrage on a Russian oil terminal, highlighting the broader regional instability.
