--- title: Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers | TIME description: The Pentagon said multiple failures are to blame for the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. service members last October. canonical: https://time.com/video/bAwO1rPt/ og:title: Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers og:description: The Pentagon said multiple failures are to blame for the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. service members last October. og:url: https://time.com/video/bAwO1rPt/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bAwO1rPt/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers twitter:description: The Pentagon said multiple failures are to blame for the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. service members last October. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bAwO1rPt/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers [Watch (HLS stream): Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bAwO1rPt.m3u8) (1:20)  _Published 2018-05-10. The Pentagon said multiple failures are to blame for the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. service members last October._ --- Jul 27, 2023 11:57 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Top U.S. General Gives Few Answers on U.S. Soldiers Killed in Niger](/video/oAfgUuFD/) ### Top U.S. General Gives Few Answers on U.S. Soldiers Killed in Niger [The Defense Department Is Looking Into Why Four U.S. Soldiers Died in Niger](/video/e5PD6ASH/) ### The Defense Department Is Looking Into Why Four U.S. Soldiers Died in Niger [Three U.S. Army Commandos Have Been Killed in Niger](/video/7sXuDL8T/) ### Three U.S. Army Commandos Have Been Killed in Niger --- ## Transcript The investigation discovered the process for staffing the teams at home station did not align with predeployment training program. This resulted in key billets, such as the team leader, taking charge of the unit well into the predeployment workup period. The investigation also discovered the integration and training. With partnered forces in Niger was inadequate. Ouallam did not meet the appropriate standards of familiarization and integration with the Nigerian partner force prior to conducting the initial mission on 3 October. In addition, basic social level routine tasks such as conducting rehearsals for immediate action drill upon enemy contact Were not completed prior to stepping off, for this mission. The investigation also found, the team inaccurately portrayed the cause of the operations for the first of three total missions on three and four October. So the Secretary is very clear as designating the Army and SOCOM. To take all specific means within the law and regulations to identify and ensure appropriate accountability takes place. And that includes anything that may not have been addressed in the investigation. So the accountability itself squarely rests on the shoulders of the army and the United States Special Operations command as directed by the Secretary. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Pentagon Blames Team, Training and Commanders for Niger Ambush That Killed 4 U.S. Soldiers","description":"The Pentagon said multiple failures are to blame for the Niger ambush that killed four U.S. service members last October.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bAwO1rPt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-05-10T18:38:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bAwO1rPt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/bAwO1rPt/","duration":"PT1M20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/bAwO1rPt/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```