Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao made an unusually candid admission this week about the extent of damage Iranian forces inflicted on a major US naval installation, telling The Epoch Times in a September 9 interview: "They blew the hell out of Bahrain."

What Cao Said

Speaking to Epoch Times reporter Ryan Morgan as he concluded a visit to a shipyard in Philadelphia, Cao acknowledged that Naval Support Activity Bahrain — headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet — sustained serious damage during the conflict with Iran. Cao also revealed that the damage left American forces unable to "pull in" the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier that had been at sea for months and was previously the subject of reports detailing poor conditions and low crew morale. When asked whether the Navy plans to repair the Bahrain facility, Cao said simply: "I have a task force that's looking at that."

The Original Attack

Iranian forces began targeting Naval Support Activity Bahrain after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. Bahrain's Ministry of Interior confirmed at the time that "Iranian aggression" had targeted maritime facilities near Salman Port, with a fire from falling debris of an intercepted missile killing an Asian worker and seriously injuring two others. Video circulating on social media at the time showed a massive explosion followed by a large plume of smoke rising from the facility. Bahrain's military said it had intercepted 61 Iranian missiles and 34 drones during the initial wave of escalation.

Why This Admission Is Notable

While open-source and satellite imagery analyses had previously indicated substantial damage to US facilities in Bahrain, Cao's comment marks one of the most direct, high-level acknowledgments of the extent of that damage from a senior US official. The Navy's top uniformed officer, Adm. Daryl Caudle, had said earlier this month that the service would not return to Naval Support Activity Bahrain "anytime soon" given the scale of the damage.

A Broader Pattern of Delayed Admissions

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute characterized the comment as part of a recurring pattern throughout the conflict: "A clear and particularly stark pattern we see in the war with Iran is that the Iranians are inflicting tremendous STRATEGIC damage with their missiles, but that the USG denies this at first and only admits it weeks, if not months, later. This creates a PROLONGED false impression that the war is going much better than it actually is and that strategic setbacks are not taking place at all." He added: "The media narrative was that Tehran was utterly failing. In reality, Tehran was showcasing capabilities that the official Western narrative ensured were underestimated."

Questions About the Region's Strategic Future

Jim Webb, a US Marine infantry veteran and independent national security consultant, said Cao's comments raise fundamental questions about the sustainability of the current US force posture in the region. "I don't think there's any way, you know, in the short, medium, or potentially even long term, that we can adequately defend a place like NSA Bahrain, or let alone the rest of the logistics bases there," Webb told The Epoch Times, adding that keeping US troops stationed at bases in the region makes them "constant targets."

Cao's Own Confirmation Status

Cao has served as acting Navy secretary since April 22, and President Trump formally nominated him for the permanent position on September 1. His confirmation would require a congressional waiver, since federal law generally requires former military officers to have been retired for at least seven years before serving as a military department secretary — Cao retired from the Navy in 2021, short of that threshold.

What's Next

With a Navy task force reportedly reviewing the future of Naval Support Activity Bahrain, and Cao's own nomination still pending congressional action, the coming weeks may bring further clarity on whether the US intends to rebuild its Fifth Fleet headquarters in place or reconsider its broader force posture across the region. For continuing coverage, see the full Epoch Times report.