Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been accused by wounded soldiers of downplaying the severity of their injuries from the Iran war.

In a report published by CBS News on Wednesday, two soldiers argued that Hegseth misled the public when he told reporters in March that "almost 90%" of the roughly 400 American service members wounded in the war sustained only minor injuries and had since returned to duty.

Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman detailed how his "body was riddled with shrapnel" on March 1 when an Iranian drone struck his work station in Kuwait – an incident considered to be the worst attack on US troops since 2021.

Despite suffering a concussion, hearing and vision loss, and damage to his lungs, the Army classified his condition as "not seriously injured" – an assessment his wife described as "unacceptable."

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Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks also survived the strike, suffering severe shrapnel wounds and undergoing multiple emergency surgeries, but his injuries were described as "minor."

Hicks said he "absolutely" believes Hegseth and the Army are trying to downplay the incident.

In a statement, the Army argued the families were misconstruing the meanings of the designations, as "seriously injured" or "very seriously injured" is typically used for soldiers at risk of dying from their wounds within 72 hours.

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