Pentagon Defends Handling Of Traumatic Brain Injuries In Iranian Attack
By Katie Bo Williams Senior National Security Correspondent Read bio
February 24, 2020
TBI symptoms are often “nonspecific,†the Joint Staff surgeon said.
The Pentagon is defending its handling of troops injured during the Jan. 7 Iranian attack on Ain Al-Asad airbase in Iraq, 110 of whom have since been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries.
The symptoms of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, are often “nonspecific,†according to Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the Joint Staff surgeon, who is a neurological surgeon by training. Those symptoms can include everything from headaches to dizziness, memory problems, balance problems, difficulty concentrating or irritability.
“A lot of people have said, ‘Why didn’t we immediately identify everybody with a traumatic brain injury? Because the signs sometimes are fairly nonspecific,†Friedrichs told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday afternoon.
https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2020/02/pentagon-defends-handling-tbis-iranian-attack/163286/
