December 15, 2017
Congress Mandates New DoD Study Central to Understanding TBI
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the signature wound of today's conflicts, affecting more than 370,000 service members, and emerging evidence suggests troops may be exposed to hazards to the brain during training as well.
TBI can come from many causes: falls, vehicle accidents, bullets, shrapnel, etc. In recent years, researchers have begun to understand that the primary blast pressure wave from explosions can also damage the brain, although the specific mechanism of injury from blast pressure is poorly understood.
Most concerning, emerging evidence suggests that service members may be exposed to significant levels of blast overpressure when firing heavy weapons, such as recoilless rifles, even in training.
Recent Defense Department studies have found that blast exposure from firing heavy weapons in training, such as the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, is associated with short-term cognitive deficits.
Even when used within currently approved firing limits, DoD studies have demonstrated that some service members may experience short-term deficits in delayed verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, and executive function after firing heavy weapons.
Read the full commentary at Military.com.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | American AI Exports Need a Sovereignty SolutionEarlier this month, the Department of Commerce opened applications for the American AI Exports Program, an ambitious effort to deploy American AI technology, tools, and infras...
By Ruby Scanlon & Vivek Chilukuri
-
Embracing Private Equity in the Next Era of National Security
Commentary
Introduction For decades, the United States has fielded the world’s most advanced and capable military. It has done so despite an acquisition system that is often bureaucratic...
By General John W. Raymond & Matt O’Kane
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
How the Pentagon Can Manage the Risks of AI WarfareTo use AI effectively, militaries will need to not only harness the promise of AI but also grapple with its limitations and risks....
By Paul Scharre
-
President Trump Announces Two-Week Ceasefire with Iran | CNN
Video
Becca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security joins CNN to discuss the ceasefire in Iran.Watch the full interview on CNN....
By Becca Wasser
