US service members injured during the war with Iran have accused military officials of understating the severity of their wounds, according to interviews with CBS News. The allegations come after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in March that “an overwhelming majority, almost 90 percent” of the roughly 400 injured American personnel had sustained “minor injuries” and that many had returned to duty.
Among those injured was Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman, who was struck by shrapnel when an Iranian drone hit his command centre in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on 1 March. The attack killed six US service members and injured 20 others.
The Army classified Bearman as “not seriously injured”. However, medical records reviewed by CBS News reportedly showed that he suffered a concussion, lung damage, and hearing and vision loss. “That assessment is unacceptable,” his wife, Amy Bearman, told CBS News.
She also disputed the Army’s determination that her husband would be able to return to duty. “I could just hear him breathing, and then he finally said, ‘I’m going to be OK,'” she recalled of a phone call two days after the attack. “I waited a few moments and then asked if he had returned to duty. It seemed like forever before he answered me, and then he said, ‘I can’t go back.'”
Another soldier injured in the same strike, Sgt. 1st Class Cory Hicks, said he suffered severe shrapnel wounds and has undergone multiple operations. According to Hicks, his wife was informed by the Army that his injuries were considered “minor”. “They said your husband was injured, he has a minor jaw injury, and he’s going to be returned to duty,” he told CBS News.
Hicks said he “absolutely” believed the Army and the Pentagon had attempted to downplay the seriousness of the attack.
After initial treatment in Kuwait, he was transferred to a hospital in Germany before continuing treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. He said he has spent several weeks in a soldier recovery unit with a “pretty severe” traumatic brain injury and could remain there for at least six more months.
CBS News reported that President Donald Trump did not visit any of the 14 injured service members being treated at Walter Reed when he attended the facility for a physical examination last month.
In a statement to CBS News, the Army rejected suggestions of a cover-up, saying families may have confused the definitions of “not seriously injured” and “combat casualty”.
The Army said personnel are classified as “seriously injured” or “very seriously injured” only if there is a significant risk of death from their injuries within 72 hours. “The care and well-being of our Soldiers is of the highest priority,” an Army spokesperson said. “Any assertion that the Army seeks to downplay a soldier’s injuries is simply not true.”