Military steps up effort to detect brain injury

FORT CARSON, Colo. - A group of infantry just back from Afghanistan sat down before computers at Fort Carson and began answering a series of questions:

Were you wounded? Did you lose consciousness or get knocked out? Were you dazed, confused, or seeing stars?

The questionnaire is part of a battery of tests and interviews to identify soldiers who suffered even mild brain injuries that might go undetected. It's part of a broader military campaign to treat tens of thousands of war veterans with traumatic brain injuries, often caused by roadside bombs, a favorite weapon of insurgents.

Since 2000, nearly 213,000 U.S. servicemen and women have suffered injuries ranging from concussions to something penetrating the brain, the military says. Well more than half, or about 121,700, were Army soldiers.


By DAN ELLIOTT

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