Former President Joe Biden’s floating pier project off the coast of Gaza, launched to deliver humanitarian aid, injured 62 U.S. troops, cost $230 million and operated for less than three weeks — despite a three month deployment schedule, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report.
The report, published Friday by the Department of Defense inspector general, offers the most detailed accounting yet of how the Biden administration’s Gaza pier rapidly unraveled. The Army and Navy, the report concludes, were “not organized, trained or equipped” to conduct the mission and deployed non-interoperable equipment that failed under heavy seas.
“These conditions occurred because the Army and Navy did not allocate sufficient maintenance, manning, training and procurement resources to their JLOTS units,” the report said, referencing the Pentagon’s Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) capability.
Biden announced the pier in his 2024 State of the Union address as a solution to deliver aid directly to Gaza without relying on Israeli land routes. It was constructed using Army causeway sections and Navy lighterage systems but faced immediate logistical and environmental setbacks. High seas repeatedly forced the structure to be dismantled and towed back to Ashdod, Israel. It was ultimately abandoned in June 2024.
The IG report states the U.S. military delivered roughly 20 million pounds of aid — about one day’s worth of supplies for Gaza’s population — before the pier was decommissioned.
Previously undisclosed casualty data shows the operation was far more dangerous than Pentagon officials previously let on. While military briefings at the time cited only a few non-combat injuries, the IG confirmed 62 service members were injured, many in pier construction and shipboard accidents. One of them, Army Sgt. Quandarius Stanley, died months later from injuries sustained in a pier-related forklift mishap.
The pier itself — and much of the Army’s watercraft — suffered significant damage. Investigators found the Navy’s pier components where physically incompatible with Army watercraft, causing damage to ramps and floating platforms. Total equipment losses are estimated at more than $31 million.
The IG also faulted U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) for failing to enforce joint training standards or adequately plan for the Gaza deployment. For years, the Army and Navy had divested watercraft and underfunded sealift programs, leading to degraded readiness, the report said. Between 2018 and 2019, the Army sold off nearly half of its watercraft fleet. In 2023, the Navy decommissioned one of its only East Coast units capable of JSLOT.
“[These conditions occurred because] USTRANSCOM did not fully exercise its authority as the [Joint Doctrine Development Community] to assist in establishing joint mission standards, interoperability requirements and minimum planning elements for JLOTS operations and exercises,” the report states.
Recommendations in the report include rebuilding watercraft capacity, funding joint training and fielding long-delayed interoperability upgrades. While the Army and Navy agreed to make changes, USTRANSCOM disagreed with key oversight proposals and failed to commit to reforms. All four of the watchdog’s recommendations to USTRANSCOM remain unresolved.
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