Hegseth Replaces Pentagon Civilian Protection Office with AI Before Iran War
In January 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired most of the Pentagon's civilian harm mitigation and response (CHMR) workers, reducing the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence from 40 to just nine staffers. The remaining staff are reportedly not allowed to investigate incidents like the Minab elementary school bombing that killed 120 children on the first day of the war in Iran. Hegseth replaced human oversight with Palantir's Maven Smart System AI. Cuts affected AFRICOM, CENTCOM (now one person), and SOUTHCOM, hampering civilian casualty prevention. Senator Elizabeth Warren and nine other Democrats wrote to Hegseth warning that gutting CHMR leads to target misidentification, wasted munitions, and increased operational risks. Former Protection Center Chief Wes Bryant stated the program has little influence on operations. Thousands of Iranians have been killed since the downsizing.
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