As the nation celebrates Veterans Day today, thousands of U.S. soldiers who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan since the 9/11 terrorist attacks are still dealing with TBI, or traumatic brain injury, which has been called the "signature injury" of both wars and an "invisible wound."
The Pentagon has estimated that 20 percent of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with TBI, usually caused by the impact of improvised explosive devices often hidden along roadsides and used to attack armored vehicles.
In recent years, as the use of IEDs has risen, so have the number of soldiers suffering TBI. In 2004, 13,271 U.S. soldiers suffered some form of traumatic brain injury. That number soared to 27,507 in 2008, and so far this year -- as of Oct. 7 -- 20,199.
In a recent New York Daily News report, a medic with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan said IEDs are the No. 1 threat.
"Most of our injuries are from IEDs," Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 28, of Lake Linden, a medic with the brigade's 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, was quoted as saying, "The explosions are getting bigger."
Brown said there are about 100 soldiers from two battalions operating in the same area in Afghanistan being treated for TBI at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
While concussions are nothing new in warfare, the number of soldiers suffering traumatic brain injuries and the severity of those wounds is rising.
The Defense Department says many thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered symptoms of TBI, which can range from being in a confused or disoriented state for more than 24 hours, loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes and memory loss for more than seven days; and structural brain imaging yielding normal or abnormal results.
The Army is ramping up screening for TBI and treatment and now claims 90 percent of soldiers are returning to duty after treatment and therapy.
But that means untold thousands have been unable to go back to active duty. And there is no telling how many soldiers will suffer further as the years go by. We need to remember lessons learned in Vietnam, where it often took years for the trauma of war to catch up with vets.
The Army is opening new facilities to treat TBI, a good thing for those veterans. Let's hope that on future Veterans Days we don't look back -- as we have in the decades since Vietnam -- and say "we should have done more."
Print this story
E-mail this story
