What do an F/A-18 fighter pilot, a Navy Special Boat team crew member and an Army mortar soldier all have in common? According to recent extensive reporting of David Phillips for The New York Times, their military specialties put them at risk for traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) every time they go to work. Whether they are training or on deployment these career fields, as well as many others in the military, have risk factors that, until recently, had gone either unrecognized or under appreciated.
And according to examples in other reporting by Philips, fighter pilots will subject their brains to forces multiple times the normal gravitational force (g-force) during aerial dogfighting maneuvers and aircraft carrier catapult launches. And crew members on a Navy Special Boat will travel at high speeds through rough ocean waves essentially experiencing one whiplash after another in a single trip. And Army soldiers, firing a 120mm mortar will experience thousands of blast waves in the course of their training and deployments.
The Unique Challenges Faced by Service Members in Active Duty and Training Situations
The culture in the military services can be a challenging environment for the promotion of brain injury awareness. Subordinating one’s own needs for the greater good of the unit and the mission is a tenant that is hammered home beginning in basic training. This can lead to soldiers, sailors and pilots hesitant to report when they are experiencing the common symptoms of a concussion or TBI such as:
- Memory and concentration issues
- Low energy/mood or personality changes
- Blurred vision
- Irritability
- Headaches/Migraines
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Insomnia/sleep disturbances
- Ringing in the ears
- Sensitivity to noise and light
Resources for Military Personnel and Families
The Department of Defense has been getting the word out to service members and their families as well. Along with publishing fact sheets with such titles as “Traumatic Brain Injury and Alcohol Misuse” and “Managing Headaches Following Concussion” in downloadable PDF files, the Military Health System’s resource page for service members also provides comprehensive and downloadable guide for family and caregivers of service members and veterans with a TBI.
Back in 2007, the Military Health System (MHS) began a 15 year longitudinal study on the effects of TBI on service members involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. The study intends to answer the following questions:
- What are the long-term physical and mental health effects of TBIs?
- What are the health care, mental health care, and rehabilitation needs?
- What is the availability of long-term care and rehabilitation within and outside the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA)?
- What is the effect on family members and caregivers?
“All of these developments show that the DOD and VA are taking the reports and impact of TBIs on service members and their families seriously, and the initiatives started in recent years are promising,” says Vincent Schaller, MD, DABFM, CIC, medical director and founder of Mid-Atlantic Concussion (MAC) Alliance. With more funding in the legislative pipeline, such as the Blast Overpressure Safety Act, more research and expanded services are expected for the future.
The War Fighter Brain Health Initiative
Beginning in June 2022, the DOD created the War Fighter Brain Health Initiative for the purpose of optimizing the brain health of service members and studying methods to treat and avoid TBIs across all branches.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence
The MHS has also created the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE) which provides clinical tools for TBI diagnosis and treatment, as well as patient resources and TBI research and data.
The TBICoE also provides an app to military health care providers called the Warfighter Brain Provider Toolkit App. Available for mobile devices, the app contains the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation 2 (MACE 2) which is a standardized assessment tool for the rapid evaluation of possible concussions. MACE was originally created in 2006 but the expanded and more in-depth version, MACE 2, was developed in 2018 to include a cognitive test, neurological exam, symptom specific questions and patient history.
Veterans Crisis Line
Veterans and their families that are currently experiencing crises of any kind, not solely as a result of a TBI, are encouraged to contact the Veterans Crisis Line by any of the following methods:
- Call: 988 (then press 1)
- Text: 838255
- Chat: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net
Our Commitment to Those Serving in Our Armed Forces
We here at the Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance are committed to serving those who have given so much to the security of our country. We have previously written about Veterans and TBIs and some of the struggles they face.
