50 US military personnel have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI)

 The real extent of damage to troops revealed following Iran-US attack

THE Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that fifty US military personnel have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of Iran's missile attack against two US bases in Iraq earlier this month.

By JOHN VARGA Wed, Jan 29, 2020

The attacks, which involved multiple missile launches, were carried out in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soeimani, Iran’s top general, by a US drone strike on January 3. The retaliatory strikes occurred on January 8, and failed to kill any US soldiers. 31 of those suffering from TDIs were treated in Iraq and have returned to duty, according to Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell.

Last week, the Pentagon said that only 34 service personnel had suffered concussion and and TBIs.

Of the 16 newly reported cases, 15 are back with their regiments, Lt. Colonel Campbell confirmed.

The problem with brain injuries is that symptoms may take several days to manifest themselves.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said last week: “"The symptoms can get better, they can get worse.

"So we may see those numbers change a little bit.

“This is a snapshot in time."

The TBIs of eight service personnel were so severe that they had to be flown back to the US for further treatment.

TBIs are generally considered the signature wound of war and are regarded as serious injuries by medical professionals.
  
Qasem Soleimani (Image: GETTY)

Moreover, in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were often the weapon of choice for the insurgent army, thus causing an increase in the number of TBIs diagnosed from previous wars.

Even mild cases of the injury can cause psychological distress, suicidal thoughts and suicide, as well as drug abuse and depression

President Trump was severely criticised by veteran groups when he seemed to dismiss the seriousness of the condition last week in a press conference.

The US President told journalists: “I heard they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I can report that it’s not very serious.”

He added: “I don’t consider them severe injuries relative to other injuries that I’ve seen.”

His remarks provoked a furious response from the group Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

The VFW”s National Commander, William “Doc” Smith said in reply: “The VFW expects an apology from the President to our service men and women for his misguided remarks.


 
US - Iran Comparison (Image: EXPRESS)

“And, we ask that he and the White House join with us in our efforts to educate Americans of the dangers TBI has on these heroes as they protect our great nation in these trying times.

“Our warriors require our full support more than ever in this challenging environment.”

Trump’s remarks are also unhelpful, because they continue to perpetuate a misconception that wounds must be visible to be taken seriously.

Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, founder, and Chairman of the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, explained: “Victims of [TBI] often blame themselves for their changed behavior, not realizing that blows or force to the head have caused lasting harm.

“Step one is helping them understand they have injuries, not character flaws.”

“They’re out of their brains; they’re not out of their minds.”

Brain injuries in Iraq put attention on invisible war wounds

By ROBERT BURNS

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020 file photo, Iranian bombing caused a crater at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar, Iraq. Ain al-Asad air base was struck by a barrage of Iranian missiles, in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed atop Iranian commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The Pentagon now says 50 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury caused by the Jan. 8 Iranian missile attack on an air base in Iraq where U.S. and coalition troops had taken cover in advance. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The spotlight on brain injuries suffered by American troops in Iraq this month is an example of America’s episodic attention to this invisible war wound, which has affected hundreds of thousands over the past two decades but is not yet fully understood.

Unlike physical wounds, such as burns or the loss of limbs, traumatic brain injuries aren’t obvious and may take time to diagnose. The full impact may not be evident for some time, as studies have shown links between TBI and mental health problems. They cannot be dismissed as mere “headaches” — the word used by President Donald Trump as he said the injuries suffered by the troops in Iraq were not necessarily serious.

“TBI is a serious injury and one that cannot be taken lightly,” said William Schmitz, national commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. “TBI is known to cause depression, memory loss, severe headaches, dizziness and fatigue,” sometimes with long-term effects.

The VFW called on Trump to apologize for his “misguided remarks.”

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., a New Jersey Democrat and founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, faulted Trump for displaying “a clear lack of understanding of the devastating impacts of brain injury.”

The Pentagon says 50 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury caused by the Jan. 8 Iranian missile attack on an air base in Iraq where U.S. and coalition troops had taken cover in advance. The toll could rise still further. No one was killed in the attack, which was an Iranian effort to avenge the killing of Qassem Soleimani, its most powerful general and leader of its paramilitary Quds Force, in an American drone strike in Baghdad.

Details of the U.S. injuries have not been made public, although the Pentagon said Tuesday that 31 of the 50 who were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury have recovered enough to return to duty. The severity of the other cases has not been disclosed.

The Pentagon did not announce the first confirmed cases until more than a week after the Iranian attack; at that point it said there were 11 cases. The question of American casualties took on added importance at the time of the Iranian strike because the degree of damage was seen as influencing a U.S. decision on whether to counterattack and risk a broader war with Iran. Trump chose not to retaliate, and the Iranians then indicated their strike was sufficient for the time being.

The arc of attention to TBI began in earnest, for the U.S. military, in the early years after it invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple President Saddam Hussein. His demise gave rise to an insurgency that confounded the Americans with crude but devastatingly effective roadside bombs. Survivors often suffered not just grievous physical wounds but also concussions that, along with psychological trauma, became known as the invisible wounds of war.

“For generations, battlefield traumatic brain injuries were not understood and often dismissed,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat.

The injuries have often been dismissed in part because the problem is not fully understood, although the Pentagon began focusing on the problem in the early 1990s when it established a head injury program that grew into today’s Defense and Veteran’s Brain Injury Center. Among its work, the center provides published reviews of research related to TBI, including links between severe TBI and behavioral issues such as alcohol abuse and suicide.

A study published this month by University of Massachusetts Amherst health services researchers concluded that military members who suffered a moderate or severe TBI are more likely than those with other serious injuries to experience mental health disorders.

Concern about TBI has recently given rise to questions about whether military members may suffer long-term health damage even from low-level blasts away from the battlefield, such as during training with artillery guns and shoulder-fired rockets.

“We’re finding that even a mild blast can cause long-term, life-changing health issues,” said Riyi Shi, a professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering at Purdue University.

A 2018 study by the federally funded RAND Corp. found a dearth of research and understanding of potential damage to the nervous system from repeated exposure to these lower-level blasts. That same year, the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank, released a study urging the Pentagon to conduct a blast surveillance program to monitor, record, and maintain data on blast pressure exposure for “any soldier, in training or combat, who is likely to be in a position where he or she may be exposed to blasts.” It said this should include brain imaging of soldiers who have been exposed to blasts as part of the study to better understand how blasts affect the brain.