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Intercept and ProPublica investigation reveals Pentagon under Hegseth gutted civilian protection unit and abandoned civilian harm-tracking database

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence was cut from 40 staff in January 2025 to nine by the end of 2025, and the civilian harm records database was abandoned during a department-wide restructuring. A May 2026 Pentagon inspector general report found the remaining civilian-protection efforts "largely inactive" and concluded the U.S. could not adequately protect civilians in conflict zones or track harm when it occurred. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and nine colleagues warned Hegseth that gutting civilian harm mitigation capacity had left the administration "potentially in violation of federal law."

Part of: Hegseth Pentagon Politicization Campaign, Trump Administration Data and Record Suppression Campaign

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

The Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (COE) — the military's primary unit for preventing and tracking civilian casualties in U.S. military operations — was reduced from 40 personnel in January 2025 to nine by the end of that year: seven civilians and two military staff. Two current defense officials confirmed that staffing remained at that level in July 2026. The COE had been on track to reach Full Operational Capability by the end of 2025 before the cuts took effect.

The civilian harm records database — the CHMR Data Management Platform — was simultaneously abandoned as part of a department-wide reorganization. Without it, the Pentagon lacks effective means to track civilian casualties across active conflict zones. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper acknowledged in May that the U.S. had no means to corroborate reports of strikes on hospitals and schools and was aware of just one active civilian casualty investigation from 13,629 expended munitions. An AI assistant was deployed to accelerate harm assessments in place of the eliminated institutional capacity.

A May 2026 Pentagon inspector general report found the office's remaining civilian-protection efforts "largely inactive," concluding that the cuts had left the U.S. unable to adequately protect civilians or investigate harm when it occurs. The remaining COE staff cannot investigate major incidents, including the February 2026 U.S. strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, which killed more than 150 people, most of them children. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and nine colleagues sent a letter to Hegseth on July 5, 2026 warning that his gutting of civilian harm mitigation and response capacity had left the Pentagon unable to comply with its congressionally mandated responsibilities, with the administration "potentially in violation of federal law."

Why we recorded this

Civilian protection infrastructure exists to prevent unlawful killing and create accountability when civilians are harmed in U.S. military operations. Reducing the COE's staff by more than three-quarters and scrapping the civilian harm-tracking database dismantles both functions simultaneously — reducing the capacity to mitigate harm during operations and eliminating the records that enable post-incident accountability. The Pentagon inspector general confirmed the remaining effort was "largely inactive," and a congressional letter warned of federal law violations. Recording this documents the deliberate erasure of congressionally mandated oversight mechanisms at the moment the U.S. is conducting active combat operations in Iran with mounting civilian casualties.

Sources

  1. Hegseth's War Department Slashed Civilian Protection Staff, Brought in AI Assessments — The Intercept investigative accessed July 20, 2026
  2. Hegseth "Defunded and Impeded" Civilian Protection Efforts — ProPublica investigative accessed July 20, 2026
  3. Warren, Colleagues Press Hegseth on Pentagon Gutting Civilian Protection Efforts Amid War in Iran — Office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren primary accessed July 20, 2026
  4. Pentagon weakening civilian harm reduction program, watchdog agency finds — Stars and Stripes secondary accessed July 20, 2026

See also