Rodney Bearman is a U.S. Army chief warrant officer 4 who has served for more than three decades, including in Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.
Case
Soldiers wounded in the March 1 Iranian drone strike at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, say they lacked drone defenses and faced delayed care. Hegseth called the drone a "squirter" that hit a fortified site, and the Army has not released its investigation.
Role at the time: U.S. Army chief warrant officer 4, wounded in the March 1 strike
Response to this claim
Wounded soldiers told the Associated Press that the military's medical system failed them: they say they were not documented as wounded in combat, were sent to barracks instead of being admitted at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and waited weeks or months for brain-injury diagnosis and care.
“Some sacred trust that I thought would never be broken was broken.”
The reference point is whether the military failed the soldiers at Port Shuaiba in protecting them or in caring for, evacuating and documenting the wounded. Bearman describes the wounded being left undocumented as combat casualties and sent to barracks at Landstuhl and says a sacred trust was broken, an express criticism of their care. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, but he attaches no condition and voices no support for how the wounded were handled. Evidence: direct quotation in an Associated Press report.
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
