Gallego, Luttrell, Johnson Call on Pentagon to Provide Answers on Service Members’ Traumatic Brain Injuries
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), Morgan Luttrell (TX-08), and Bill Johnson (OH-06) are calling on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to explain what the Department is doing to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) for service members in light of recent attacks.
“The attacks on our bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week were conducted using drones and lower-grade explosives, resulting in relatively minor damage. However, as we look to the future and plan to engage in great power competition against Iran, China, and Russia, we must do better to protect our service members. If drones have the ability to cause dozens of cases of TBI, Chinese and Russians with much higher yield conventional ballistic missiles will cause devastating impacts. Three years on from the Iran attack, and we are concerned that we have yet to adequately improve base force protection or personal protective equipment to mitigate these risks,” the members write.
According to defense officials, since October 17th, U.S. targets in Iraq and Syria, including U.S. bases, have been attacked at least 38 times, primarily with by one-way drones, mortars, or rockets. As a result of these attacks, at least 45 U.S. personnel have been injured, including approximately two dozen with possible traumatic brain injuries.
“While properly diagnosing and caring for TBIs is imperative, your Department must continue to innovate ways to reduce this risk of injury on the battlefield. These injuries have a lasting impact on our service members and veterans and the status quo is no longer sufficient. How many ‘minor attacks’ that cause potential life-long brain injuries do we allow before significant changes are made,” the members continue.
They ask the following questions:
- Since the attacks in Iraq in January 2020, what have you done to reduce the risk of TBIs to service members serving in forward operating bases?
- Were the bases and personnel involved in the recent attacks upholding the department’s standards for base force protection and personal protective equipment?
- What policy or procedural changes has the DoD made regarding base force protection or infrastructure measures and personal protective equipment requirements in forward operating positions?
- How has the Department enforced any changes to the immediate screening or follow-on screening procedures after minor injuries occur to better identify and treat TBIs early on?