Rodney Bearman
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.”
Associated Press report in which nine wounded service members spoke on the record about their medical care after the March 1 strike. It reports that the Army and the Pentagon declined to comment on the AP's reporting, quotes a Pentagon statement that wounded troops are evaluated and may be admitted based on severity according to physicians who follow "healthcare-industry practices," and quotes a Pentagon official on Landstuhl's mission.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
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.