Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/13/maine-lawmakers-call-for-military-brain-scans.html
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The data on repeated head trauma is very clear.
Researchers Find CTE in 345 of 376 Former NFL Players Studied | Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (bu.edu)
In sports (football, boxing, etc) there has been awareness for years about the risk and the dose-response curve. The idea that somehow military grade explosives are different is ludicrous. Repeated low level head trauma is bad for your brain. This is not controversial or cutting-edge knowledge. The military should be taking better care of the troops, but this has been the case for the entire 200+ year history of the US armed forces. Good for these guys trying to force the issue. Pathetic that it took this long.
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I wonder what the methodolgy would be for measuring and logging exposure? Some type of wearable passive blast recorder, like a radiation dosimeter? Or good 'ol self reporting? Something else?
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Not my area, but I would have to imagine (based on extensive experience watching MythBusters, that there is some sort of wearable blast meter or other?
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it is the ongoing practice of the DoD to deny any non-visible injuries that have been caused by exposure to war (radiation, brain trauma, noxious fumes, mental illness, poisoning)
uggghh. I forgot to add “homelessness”
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By the time the damage shows on any diagnostic scan … it’s already DAMAGE. And even if you quit right then, the damage will become worse.
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I wonder if it would help if every member of the military received an MRI as a standard procedure during both the recruitment and discharge procedures so there was no question how much cumulative brain injury they received during their service.
Obviously avoiding that injury altogether should be the primary goal, but tracking the prevalence of such injury is important for both treatment and preventing similar harm to future recruits.
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Rugby Union players are using ‘smart’ mouth guards. Have sensors that record head impact speeds/decelerations and…
(But probably not designed for blast exposure logging. I imagine that has a different impact profile.)
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This Times article was terrifying:
Marines in Syria fighting ISIS who were firing the artillery, right next to the repeated shock waves of the launches, coming back and seeing the ghosts of dead kids around them, with many of them committing suicide or attempting to.
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