A new Pentagon report slams the Army and Navy’s ability to carry out joint missions to create temporary docks and piers as part of a review of President Biden’s failed floating pier that was promised to deliver aid to Gaza.

The Department of Defense’s inspector general says the military didn’t meet standards for equipment and unit readiness for the mission to build a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off of Gaza’s coast to shuttle food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters to residents of Gaza. The report also said that the Army and Navy didn’t organize, train, and equip their forces to be able to work together on the task.

The report also found that the Army and Navy equipment was not compatible and that planners did not fully consider mission-specific requirements. Both branches were also criticized for not addressing operational planning deficiencies.

Both branches were cited for having reduced the sizes of the units and decommissioned equipment used to transport and build the systems, affecting their capabilities to carry out the mission.

The inspector general report recommends that the Army and Navy review their units that are responsible for building the temporary piers and develop and implement a plan to meet joint mission standards. 

Mr. Biden announced the pier during last year’s State of the Union address. The goal was to bring up to 150 truckloads a day of supplies from ships over the $320 million temporary pier and into the besieged enclave.

The pier was snapped together several miles offshore and then moved into position to create a third-of-a-mile-long causeway. Problems started almost immediately.

The pier came under mortar fire as United Nations officials were touring the area. In another incident, two vessels used to stabilize the pier lost power, snapped free from their anchors in rough seas, and ran aground.

The Pentagon suspended using it after less than three weeks of operations due to damage from rough weather and high seas. One official stated that much of the limited aid that was transported over the pier never reached its intended recipients and was reportedly looted from food trucks leaving the staging area or commandeered by Hamas terrorists.

Aid groups warned that the floating pier was not a substitute for land deliveries. They said Mr. Biden should have tried to force Israel to open land crossings to allow more aid to flow into Gaza.