By: E&P Staff It's long been known at thousands of U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years suffered some form of brain trauma. But that was just the officially listed number. Now USA Today reports that at least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in those two war zones have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records.
Gregg Zoroya writes, "The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs, show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the 4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also are not reflected in the Pentagon's official tally of wounded, which stands at 30,327.
"The number of brain-injury cases were tabulated from records kept by the VA and four military bases that house units that have served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"One base released its count of brain injuries at a medical conference. The others provided their records at the request of USA Today, in some cases only after a Freedom of Information Act filing was submitted."
One source: "VA hospitals, where Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been screened for combat brain injuries since April. The VA found about 20% of 61,285 surveyed ? or 11,804 veterans ? with signs of brain injury, spokeswoman Alison Aikele says. VA doctors say more evaluation is necessary before a true diagnosis of brain injury can be confirmed in all these cases, Aikele says.
"Soldiers and Marines whose wounds were discovered after they left Iraq are not added to the official casualty list, says Army Col. Robert Labutta, a neurologist and brain injury consultant for the Pentagon."
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