Iran Downloaded Its Last Satellite Photo of the Day. Then the Evacuation Began.

On January 8, 2020, Iran launched 16 ballistic missiles at U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. Eleven struck Al Asad (Ain al-Asad) Air Base, where nothing could shoot them down. No one was killed. Hours earlier, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie of U.S. Central Command had waited until he was sure Iran had downloaded its last commercial satellite picture of the day before he began evacuating the base. By the time the first missile landed at 1:34 a.m., 51 aircraft had been flown out, soldiers had moved into the desert, and the people who had to stay were in bunkers. This film follows that night through the records: an Air Force squadron that divided itself into 80 who stayed and 80 who left, the controllers who kept the radar open until the last evacuation flight was out, a rescue crew that flew back in despite warnings of an imminent attack, the Space Force squadron in Colorado that saw the launches as infrared flares on its satellite sensors, and the bunkers between volleys. Then it follows the count that came after — the injuries tallied in the weeks after, the Purple Heart reviews, and the inspector general's report almost two years later. Told from Pentagon briefing transcripts, congressional testimony, the inspector general's evaluation, the Air Force's own collection of airmen's accounts, award citations, CENTCOM's drone footage of the strikes, and CBS 60 Minutes interviews with the commanders who were there. 00:00 Al Asad, January 7, 2020 — waiting for Iran's last satellite picture 00:46 January 3 — Soleimani is killed, and Iran's missiles begin to move 01:16 No ballistic missile defense in Iraq — 60-pound warheads expected, Iran's over 1,000 pounds 02:01 Eighty stay, eighty leave — one squadron splits in two 03:07 The window, 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. — 51 aircraft fly out 04:29 Lockdown at 11 p.m. — into the bunkers, and a warning to Baghdad 05:32 1:34 a.m. — 11 ballistic missiles strike Al Asad 07:46 Daybreak — 'All is well,' and two accounts of Iran's intent 09:21 Counting the injured — 109 brain injuries, Purple Hearts, the inspector general 11:14 What the last picture showed Where the records give different numbers — missiles launched and missiles that struck, brain injuries by date and by source — the film says whose count it is. Gen. Milley's assessment of Iran's intent and the Iranian commander's account stand side by side, without a verdict. Sources · U.S. Air Forces Central Command — “American Airmen's Accounts of Iranian Missile Attacks” (January 2020), released April 7, 2020 · DoD Office of Inspector General — “Evaluation of Traumatic Brain Injuries in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility,” DODIG-2022-006, November 1, 2021 · U.S. Department of Defense — statement of January 7, 2020 · press briefings by Secretary Esper and Gen. Milley, January 8 and January 30, 2020 · DOD News, January 2020 · U.S. Central Command — statement on service member screening, January 17, 2020 · “Al Asad TBM attack,” drone footage, DVIDS, March 1, 2021 · The White House — Remarks on the Situation in Iran, January 8, 2020 · News Conference in Davos, January 22, 2020 (DCPD) · Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. — House Armed Services Committee hearing, March 10, 2020 (H.A.S.C. No. 116-76) · Senate Armed Services Committee stenographic transcript, March 12, 2020 · CBS News 60 Minutes — “Inside the attack that almost sent the U.S. to war with Iran,” February 28, 2021 · CBS News Purple Heart reports, October–December 2021 · Associated Press · CNN · Los Angeles Times · AFP · Military Times — reporting from Al Asad and the Pentagon, January–February 2020 · Air Force Times · Military Times · Defense News · Air & Space Forces Magazine — award citations and Space Force missile-warning accounts, 2020–2023 · Military Times (C4ISRNET) — the Space Force's early-warning account of the attack, January 7, 2021 · Alaska Air National Guard — “Arctic Guardians Honored for Al Asad Evacuation,” February 22, 2023 · Government of Canada — Flight PS752 report, June 2021 · Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) · Fox Business — U.S. market close, January 8, 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. #AlAsad #Iran #BallisticMissiles #USAirForce #CENTCOM #Iraq #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.