Day 480

Pentagon IG: Hegseth Dismantled Civilian Harm Safeguards During Active War (May 2026)

On May 14, 2026, the Pentagon Inspector General released a report (DOWIG-2026-084) finding that the Department had not fully implemented any of the 11 objectives of the 2022 Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP) by the end of FY2025, with 133 implementing actions incomplete. Civilian harm mitigation staff had fallen from about 160 to about 16, and the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence from nearly 40 to 7. The same day, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper told senators of reports of US strikes on Iranian hospitals and schools: 'There's no way we can corroborate that.' The IG found non-compliance with policy required by federal law (FY2019 NDAA §936; 10 U.S.C. §§134, 184). A later Pentagon review of the Minab school strike reportedly found that the shrunken civilian-harm team meant no specialist reviewed the target.