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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 29 January 2020

Pentagon: 50 troops suffered brain injuries in Iran strike

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, of impairment of thinking, the military between the
became a bigger concern memory, vision, hearing years 2000 and 2018.
for the military in recent and other functions. The Centers for Disease
years as medical science The severity and duration of Control and Prevention
improved its understand- the injury can vary widely. says a severe TBI may lead
ing of its causes and effects The Defense Department to death or result in an ex-
on brain function. It can has said more than 375,000 tended period of coma or
involve varying degrees incidents of TBI occurred in amnesia.q

In this Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019 file photo taken from a helicopter
shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The and a U.S. military medical
Pentagon on Tuesday facility in Kuwait.
raised to 50 the number of Trump had initially said he
U.S. service members who was told that no troops
suffered traumatic brain had been injured in the
injuries in Iran's missile strike Jan. 8 missile strike on Iraq's
earlier this month on an Ain al-Asad air base, which
Iraqi air base, the third time Iran carried out as retalia-
the number of injuries has tion for a U.S. drone strike
been increased. in Baghdad that killed Iran's
The new casualty total most powerful general, Qa-
belies President Donald ssem Soleimani, on Jan. 3.
Trump's initial claim that no The military said symptoms
Americans were harmed. of concussion or traumatic
Days after the attack, the brain injury were not imme-
military said 11 service diately reported after the
members were injured. Last strike and in some cases
week, the Pentagon said became known days later.
that 34 U.S. service mem- Many were in bunkers be-
bers were hurt. fore nearly a dozen Iranian
Lt. Col. Thomas Camp- ballistic missiles exploded.
bell, a Pentagon spokes- After the Pentagon report-
man, said Tuesday that 16 ed on Jan. 17 that 11 ser-
additional service mem- vice members had been
bers were diagnosed with evacuated from Iraq with
traumatic brain injury. Of concussion-like symptoms,
the 50, Campbell said, 31 Trump said, "I heard they
service members had re- had headaches and a
turned to duty. couple of other things ...
The service members were and I can report it is not
treated in Iraq, or at military very serious."
health centers, including He said he did not consider
Landstuhl Regional Medi- the injuries to be as severe
cal Center, the largest U.S. as those suffered by troops
military hospital outside the who were hit by roadside
continental United States, bombs in Iraq.