Nearly 700 US troops wounded in Iran war suffer traumatic brain injuries

Nearly 700 US service members have been wounded in drone and missile attacks on military bases in the Middle East since the start of the Iran war. The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said most of the injuries over a two-week period were minor concussions. Military officials have described the majority of wounds as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), a signature injury of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Joe Shearer, a 40-year-old Marine veteran from Colorado Springs, was diagnosed with TBIs linked to incidents in Iraq in 2005. He described being knocked down by a mortar blast and later struck by a roadside bomb, but said he continued his duties despite headaches and sleeplessness. Shearer’s symptoms, including dizziness and memory loss, persisted for years before he was diagnosed. He said military culture discouraged reporting injuries, with troops fearing being seen as weak.

Doctors say they cannot predict which patients will suffer long-term effects from TBIs. Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and memory problems can persist for months or years, a condition sometimes called brain fog. Repeated injuries increase the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to deaths in American football. The military has improved screening for TBIs, but advocates say injuries may still be undercounted because symptoms overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Democratic lawmakers, including Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, have called for an investigation into the military’s response to a March drone strike in Kuwait that killed six US soldiers. Baldwin said Wisconsin service members wounded in the attack went weeks without screening or specialised care. A Defence Health Agency spokesman said it is military policy to screen service members for TBIs.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated or centre-rated digests mentioned Senator Tammy Baldwin’s call for an investigation into the military’s response to the March drone strike in Kuwait. The Times of India digest did not include the figure of 700 wounded service members or the military’s description of most injuries as minor concussions. The centre-rated digests did not carry Baldwin’s criticism of the military’s handling of the March attack.