DOD August memo: Pentagon lacks plan for brain injuries

A soldier, who suffered a brain injury in a bomb blast in Iraq, expresses frustration when he loses his train of thought and forgets what he was going to say. Traumatic brain injury can be caused without any visible injuries when explosives jar the brain inside the skull. Symptoms can range from headaches, irritability and sleep disorders to memory problems and depression.

The Pentagon lacks a comprehensive plan to identify and treat tens of thousands of troops who may suffer from traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of the Iraq war, according to a previously undisclosed Defense Department memorandum obtained by USA TODAY.

The memo was released this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Troops with mild and moderate brain injury are of greatest concern, the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, now part of a new Defense Health Board, said in the Aug. 11 memo.

The board's finding has surfaced as the Army's medical care for Iraq veterans comes under harsh criticism in Congress following disclosures by The Washington Post of soldiers facing bureaucratic delays and substandard housing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Read the rest at USA Today

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