Senators demand DOD answers on troops’ self-inflicted brain injuries
By Leo Shane III
Jan 19, 01:02 PM
A trio of senators want the Defense Department to speed up monitoring military brain injuries caused by concussive blasts from service members’ own weapons and outline efforts to protect the force from future trauma.
In a Jan. 18 letter sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the group — Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. — said recent research has shown disturbing damage to troops’ health from their own equipment.
One department study found cognitive deficits and memory problems among personnel who repeatedly fired heavy weaponry, even within allowable safety limits. The senators said another report noted that 75% of blast exposure issues in one unit researchers followed were tied to troops’ own weapons, rather than outside forces.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2024/01/19/senators-demand-dod-answers-on-troops-self-inflicted-brain-injuries/
