WASHINGTON — Former President Joe Biden’s failed floating Gaza pier plan left 62 US personnel injured, one service member dead and caused at least $31 million in damage to military equipment, according to a scathing Pentagon watchdog report that found the Army and Navy failed to properly train, prepare, coordinate and plan for the mission.
The project, which Biden announced during his 2024 State of The Union address amid mounting protests on the left over Israel’s war against Hamas, sought to deliver humanitarian aid to the terrorist-controlled enclave — but ultimately was functional for just 20 days before being abandoned.
The Defense Department Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) report, released late Tuesday, found that the military services were not adequately prepped for the mission — dubbed Operation Neptune Solace — but the project moved ahead despite the Army and Navy facing “low equipment mission-capable rates and low manning and training levels.”
“The Army and Navy did not allocate sufficient maintenance, manning, [or] training,” according to the report, which also found that the services “did not organize, train, and equip to a common joint standard” for the so-called “joint logistics over-the-shore” — or JLOTS — operation
The disjointed nature of the effort contributed to 27 watercraft and other paraphernalia suffering damage costing $31 million to repair, the report found, as “Army-and Navy-specific equipment, including watercraft, piers, and causeways, as well as command, control, and communications systems was not interoperable.”
This week’s report follows a similar review by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of the Inspector General from August 2024 — which found Biden charged ahead with the $230 million pier despite the urgings of multiple federal aid workers.
Army officials interviewed by the DoD OIG noted that “the lack of interoperability created challenges during (the Gaza operation), resulting in equipment damage and communications security risks,” according to the report.
US Central Command (CENTCOM reported 62 injuries during the course of Operation Neptune Solace, though the report said it was unclear whether they happened “during the performance of duties or resulted off duty or from pre-existing medical conditions.”
The Pentagon had previously confirmed that three service members were injured May 23, 2024, as the result of a non-combat incident during the operation.
One of those injured, Army Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, died Oct. 31 while under long-term medical care.
The Biden White House had expected that it would allow delivery of enough provisions to feed an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians over a three-month period.
But the pier ultimately delivered less than a third of that for roughly 450,000 Palestinians before it was decommissioned on July 17, according to the USAID report.
The report also found serious issues with the planning of the operation, noting the pier’s designers “did not fully consider mission-specific information requirements, such as beach conditions, average sea states, and other factors that affect the ability to successfully plan and conduct JLOTS operations.”
A Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
