April 30, 2018

Report to Army Finds Blast from Some Weapons May Put Shooter's Brain at Risk

By: Paul Scharre and Lauren Fish

Military personnel may be endangering their own brains when they operate certain shoulder-fired weapons, according to an Army-commissioned report released Monday.

The report, from the Center for a New American Security, says these bazooka-like weapons pose a hazard because they are powered by an explosion just inches from the operator's head.

When you fire it, the pressure wave feels like getting hit in the face," says Paul Scharre, a former Army Ranger who directs the technology and national security program at the Center. Scharre is a co-author of the center's report: Protecting Warfighters from Blast Injury.

The report looks at a range of injuries caused by blast waves — pulses of high pressure air that emanate from an explosion and travel faster than the speed of sound.

Read the Full Article at National Public Radio

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