在MS NOW报道称海军在伊朗战争爆发期间将军人家庭困在巴林、并在随后数月未能充分支持他们撤离该地区之后，国会参众两院的民主党人要求国防部长皮特·赫格塞思作出解释。
House and Senate Democrats are demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following MS NOW’s reporting that the Navy left military families stranded in Bahrain during the outbreak of the Iran war and failed to adequately support their transitions out of the region in the months that followed.
在MS NOW率先获得的一封致赫格塞思的联名信中，民主党议员将国防部对此事的处理——特别是国防部领导层决定拒绝延长对这些家庭的经济援助——称为“不可接受”。
In a joint letter to Hegseth obtained first by MS NOW, Democratic lawmakers described the Defense Department’s handling of the situation, specifically department leadership’s decision to deny an extension of financial assistance to the families, as “unacceptable.”
他们还希望获得更多信息，了解在2月下旬伊朗发动打击后，巴林海军支援设施“陷入瘫痪”“如何影响了美国在伊朗战争以及更广泛中东地区的行动”。议员们在信中直接引用了MS NOW关于此事的报道。这封信由参众两院30名民主党议员联署，其中包括众议院军事委员会首席民主党议员亚当·史密斯。
They also want more information about how “the incapacitation” of Naval Support Activity Bahrain after Iranian strikes in late February “has impacted U.S. operations in the Iran War and the broader Middle East.”The lawmakers directly cited MS NOW’s reporting on the subject in their letter, which was signed by 30 Democratic lawmakers from both chambers, including Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
他们要求在11月13日前就围绕这项经济援助（内部称为“安全避难津贴”）的相关决定作出答复。
They are demanding answers by Nov. 13 on the decisions surrounding the financial assistance, internally known as safe haven entitlements.
“从巴林海军支援设施撤离的家庭经历了地狱般的遭遇。父母保护孩子免受炸弹爆炸的伤害，家园在惊慌中被遗弃，珍贵的回忆永远丢失，如今还面临巨大的个人经济负担，”纽约州民主党众议员帕特里克·瑞安在向MS NOW提供的一份声明中解释致信原因时说道。
“The families evacuated from NSA Bahrain have been put through hell. Parents shielding their kids from bomb blasts, homes abandoned in a panic, cherished memories lost forever and now facing huge personal financial burdens,” Rep. Patrick Ryan, D-N.Y., told MS NOW in a statement explaining the reasons for sending the letter.
“国防部领导层拒绝了海军延长安全避难津贴的请求，这令人难以置信。五角大楼有1万亿美元的预算，皮特·赫格塞思却选择让这些家庭陷入困境，这实在不可理喻。我们要求得到答复并追究责任，”身为退伍军人的瑞安说。
“It is unbelievable the DoD leadership denied the Navy’s request to extend safe haven entitlements. The Pentagon has a TRILLION dollar budget, and it’s unconscionable that Pete Hegseth is choosing to leave these families in the lurch. We’re demanding answers and accountability,” Ryan said, who is also a military veteran.
作为美国海军第五舰队总部超过三十年的巴林海军支援活动基地，在伊朗战争初期的一系列袭击中遭到严重破坏。
Naval Support Activity Bahrain, which has served as the headquarters for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet for more than three decades, was severely damaged in a series of attacks at the start of the Iran war.
自伊朗开始报复性打击以来，包括军人家属在内的1250多人已从基地撤离，海军表示。军人配偶形容这次撤离混乱不堪，且“完全一团糟”。在随后的几个月里，家属们在多个大陆之间辗转，耗尽积蓄，同时还要安抚因巴林家中爆炸而受创伤的孩子。有些家庭直到冲突开始两周后才被从该国撤离。随着安全避难所待遇即将结束，家属将不得不自行承担搬迁费用。
More than 1,250 people were evacuated from the base after retaliatory strikes from Iran commenced, including military families, the Navy has said. Spouses of service members described the evacuation as disorganized and “utterly chaotic.”In the months that followed, families described moving between multiple continents and draining their financial savings, all while soothing children traumatized by the explosions that rocked their homes in Bahrain. Some families were not evacuated from the country until two weeks into the conflict. With safe haven entitlements coming to an end, families will have to cover the costs of moving themselves.
一旦家庭签订永久租约，付款将立即停止，他们被要求在12月1日前这样做。许多家庭的物品仍滞留在巴林，短期内无法取回，这意味着军人家属将不得不自掏腰包为新住所添置家具。
Payments are set to stop as soon as a family signs a permanent lease, which they were told to do by Dec. 1. Many of the families’ belongings remain stuck in Bahrain for the foreseeable future, meaning the families of service members will have to furnish their new lodgings on their own dime.
议员们在信中特别指出，五角大楼增加家属经济负担的决定是“糟糕的政策”。
The lawmakers specifically called out the Pentagon’s decision to add to the families’ financial burdens in their letter, calling it “bad policy.”
“要求军人为你们管理伊朗战争不当而强加给他们的开支自掏腰包，这是错误的，”议员们写道。“你们必须解决这个问题。”民主党议员们写道，他们想了解“对疏散人员是否有任何流程可获得所产生费用的报销”，以及五角大楼目前有多少潜在报销案件待处理。
“Requiring servicemembers to pay out of pocket for expenses that were forced upon them by your mismanagement of the Iran War is wrong,” the lawmakers wrote. “You must fix this.”The Democratic lawmakers wrote that they want to know “what processes, if any, are in place for evacuees to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred,” as well as how many potential reimbursement cases are pending before the Pentagon.
“这又是唐纳德·特朗普和皮特·赫格塞思辜负我们军人、军人家庭和国防部文职人员的又一例证。让军人及其家庭自掏腰包支付因唐纳德·特朗普和皮特·赫格塞思愚蠢、鲁莽的战争及其糟糕规划而产生的费用，这是不可接受的，”前海军军官、宾夕法尼亚州民主党众议员克里斯·德卢齐奥说。
“This is yet another way that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are failing our troops, military families, and Defense Department civilians. It is unacceptable to make servicemembers and their families to pay out of pocket for expenses that happened because of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth’s foolish, reckless war and their poor planning,” Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., a former Navy officer, said.
“国防部需要解决这个问题。赫格塞思应该被解职——早就该这样了。如果他不辞职，国会就应该采取行动。我将继续在众议院军事委员会为支持我们的军人及其家庭而奋斗，”德卢齐奥说。
“The Department of Defense needs to fix this. Hegseth should be fired — it’s way overdue. If he doesn’t resign, the Congress should take action. I will keep fighting in the House Armed Services Committee to support our servicemembers and their families,” Deluzio said.