Wounded soldiers, families accuse Army of downplaying war injuries

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked astir the toll of the struggle with Iran successful March, helium told reporters that "almost 90%" of the 400 injured American work members had sustained lone insignificant injuries and had since returned to duty.

Now, immoderate of those wounded soldiers archer CBS News the injuries were acold much superior than the authoritative designation provided by the military.

Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman's assemblage was riddled with shrapnel successful the aboriginal hours of the warfare connected March 1 erstwhile an Iranian drone slammed into his enactment presumption successful Kuwait. Medical records reviewed by CBS News amusement helium besides suffered a concussion, proceeding and imaginativeness loss, and harm to his lungs. The Army has classified his information arsenic "not earnestly injured."

"That appraisal is unacceptable," his wife, Amy Bearman, told CBS News successful an interview. 

Chief Bearman, 57, was one of much than 20 hurt successful the deadliest strike of the struggle connected American soldiers and the worst onslaught connected American troops since 2021. The Bearmans are besides among respective survivors and their families who told CBS News they weren't being treated by the subject arsenic combat casualties for reasons they could not recognize — a assertion an Army spokesperson powerfully denied.

In respective cases, injured work members said they had been cleared for duty. But that "duty" involves progressive orders to recuperate from injuries successful specialized "soldier betterment units." (A Pentagon spokesperson told CBS News that soldiers successful betterment units are not counted arsenic having returned to duty.) 

Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks, 37, besides suffered terrible shrapnel wounds from the blast and underwent aggregate exigency surgeries astatine a Kuwaiti hospital. He said his woman was told by an Army authoritative aft the onslaught that his injuries were "minor." 

"They said your hubby was injured, helium has a insignificant jaw injury, and he's going to beryllium returned to duty," said Hicks. He told CBS News helium "absolutely" believes the Army and the Pentagon person tried to downplay the incident.  

In a connection to CBS News, the Army powerfully pushed backmost against that assertion and said specified subject designations arsenic "not earnestly injured" and "combat casualty" had circumstantial definitions that were being misconstrued by the families. 

"The attraction and well-being of our Soldiers is of the highest priority," an Army spokesperson wrote. "Any assertion that the Army seeks to downplay a soldier's injuries is simply not true."

Citing Army protocols, an Army spokesperson explained that a worker who is classified arsenic "seriously injured" oregon "very earnestly injured" is idiosyncratic astatine hazard of dying from their wounds wrong 72 hours.

A life-changing telephone call

Amy Bearman said she knew to enactment distant from the TV erstwhile the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury connected Feb. 28.

Her hubby had near for Kuwait successful September 2025 — his 5th deployment since they were joined astir 25 years ago. His unit, the Iowa-based 103rd Sustainment Command, relocated from Camp Arifjan to a tiny tactical outpost astatine Port of Shuaiba weeks earlier warfare broke out.

"A batch of friends were calling, texting and wanting to cognize what I knew," Bearman told CBS News. "From being a subject spouse for the past astir 25 years, I knew that if thing ever happened to my hubby portion helium was serving, I knew I would person either an authoritative telephone telephone oregon an authoritative visit."

On March 1, an Iranian drone slammed into the multi-trailer enactment presumption astatine Port of Shuaiba. The adjacent day, Amy Bearman received an authoritative telephone from Fort Knox.

"They told maine that my husband's injuries were classified arsenic NSI, and they described that, oregon they defined that, arsenic 'not earnestly injured,'" she recalled. "He was treated and released backmost to duty. That was a immense relief. I deliberation possibly that was the archetypal clip that I took a enactment successful 24 hours."

But her husband's injuries turned retired to beryllium worse than she said the Army led her to believe.

On March 3, Amy Bearman received different telephone call, this clip from her husband, Rodney, who had conscionable spent the nighttime successful a Kuwaiti hospital.

"I could conscionable perceive him breathing and past helium yet said, 'I'm going to beryllium OK.' I waited a fewer moments and past asked if helium returned to duty. It seemed similar everlastingly earlier helium answered me, and past helium said, 'I can't spell back.'"

The onslaught connected Port of Shuaiba killed six U.S. soldiers. 

In April, a CBS News probe revealed determination were aggregate warnings up of the strike, related to unit protection. Soldiers told CBS News they were near unprotected from the drone onslaught contempt quality showing Iran was targeting their presumption successful Kuwait. The findings sparked an investigation from Senate Democrats.

Photo obtained by CBS News shows harm from the Iranian drone onslaught that killed six U.S. work members successful Kuwait connected March 1, 2026.

CBS News past spoke with different survivors of the blast who elaborate requests to enactment for much resources up of the strike. Those requests focused connected the fig of aesculapian unit arsenic good arsenic the availability and accessibility of aesculapian supplies.

"This was a failure," Major Stephen Ramsbottom said successful an interrogation with CBS News past month, adding helium believed Master Sergeant Nicole Amor, 1 of the six soldiers killed, could person survived her wounds had determination been a doctor, a fixed assistance presumption oregon much than 1 ambulance astatine the post.

The soldiers, according to witnesses, alternatively triaged themselves with makeshift bandages, braces and tourniquets. They commandeered civilian vehicles to thrust the wounded to 2 section Kuwaiti hospitals.

Doctors noted that Bearman possibly should person stayed longer successful the infirmary successful Kuwait, but the Army "pulled him out" due to the fact that of information concerns, aesculapian records show.

The Army spokesperson said the probe into "the facts and circumstances of the attack" has been completed, and findings from the probe volition beryllium released erstwhile adjacent of kin person been briefed.    

"Our anticipation for the probe is that an honorable appraisal by the Army volition forestall this from happening again to different work members," said Amy Bearman. 

Once stabilized, Hicks was airlifted to Landstuhl Medical Center successful Germany and aboriginal to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center successful Maryland, wherever helium required inpatient attraction for respective weeks. 

Now astir 4 months since the attack, helium remains astatine Walter Reed successful a worker betterment portion with a "pretty severe" traumatic encephalon injury, and expects to enactment determination for astatine slightest the adjacent six months.

A spokesperson for Walter Reed declined to remark owed to privateness laws. 

In a written connection to CBS News, an Army spokesperson declined to remark connected what was told to Hicks' wife, but said, "What I tin archer you is that SFC Hicks received the attraction and attraction indispensable successful theatre to hole him for evacuation extracurricular of the U.S. Central Command country of work to person a higher level of attraction arsenic dictated by his wounds."

Army defends "not earnestly injured" designation

Chief Bearman returned to the United States connected March 18, inactive injured and inactive with pieces of shrapnel passim his body.

Bearman himself past applied for and was granted a petition to beryllium assigned to a worker betterment portion astatine Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which was wrong driving region from his wife, Amy, and their location successful West Virginia.

On March 26, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito wrote to the Army connected Bearman's behalf, seeking clarity and answers connected what happened to him successful Kuwait and wherefore Amy was told her hubby was "not earnestly injured."

Nearly 2 months later, connected May 13, Major General Michael J. Leeney responded to Capito and Bearman, defending the [not earnestly injured] designation but noting "this method classification is successful nary mode intended to minimize [Chief Warrant Officer] Bearman's publication and sacrifice."

In:

• United States Army