Thousands Of Vets Are Still Waiting For Health Benefits

 

Hundreds Of Thousands Of War Vets Still Waiting For Health Benefits -- CNN Phoenix 

(CNN) -- Mike Rioux can't go to the grocery store without making a list, even for a single item. He can't drive without gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. And he can't stand any longer than 30 minutes because of severe back pain. This is Rioux's life after Afghanistan, where firefights and a roadside bomb blast left him with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

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My Comment: Heartbreaking .... and a situation that our injured vets certainly do not deserve to be in.

Soldiers' Poor Health Causes Skeletal Injuries?

Pressed About Skeletal Injuries, Army Chief Cites Soldiers' Poor Health -- The Hill

The Senate’s top appropriator is concerned about injuries spawned by the weight of gear soldiers carry into combat, but Army brass say the poor health of America’s youth also is to blame.

As the Army and other military services have fielded more and more advanced combat gear -- especially electronics equipment -- U.S. troops have been instructed to strap more and more weight to their bodies.

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My Comment: When you are carrying 125 lbs of gear .... it is going to wear you down .... and once worn down .... injuries occur. My Bachelor in Science is Physiology/Physics .... one of the first things that I learned was how weight and stress/tiredness can cause injuries. For these soldiers (who are fit), they are not only carrying heavy loads, but the geography of the land makes their job of lugging that gear even more harder. Hence .... injuries are the result for some.

Afghan/Iraq Wars: Traumatic Brain Injuries Number 180,000 To As Many As 320,000

John Barnes incurred a traumatic brain injury in Iraq when shrapnel entered his brain from an enemy attack on March 14, 2006. (Whitney Shefte/TWP)

The Cost of War: Traumatic Brain Injuries Number 180,000, Could Be As Many As 320,000 -- Washington Post

On Sunday the Post released a series on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans living with traumatic brain injuries -- TBIs, for short -- a hidden cost of the wars.

Members of the military, family members and others have responded to the series with gratitude that this injury is being brought to light, with anger that the problem has not been reported more widely and with sorrow that the men and women have been injured in the war.

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My Comment: An astounding figure .... the medical costs alone (and the cost on families) will number in the mega billions, as well as suffering and hardships for the families that are impacted.

The Cost Of War

U.K. Army To Discharge 5,000 Injured Troops -- The Telegraph

Up to 5,000 troops could be discharged from the armed forces because they are medically unfit for combat duties, including many injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was reported today.

The Sunday Times quoted a leaked Ministry of Defence document as saying that 5% of the Army's 102,000 personnel were no longer fit to be deployed in action.

The newspaper suggested that the worst affected 1,500 troops were in line to be discharged first, with 750 following in each of the next few years.

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My Comment: Wait when the numbers for Post Traumatic Syndrome filter in .... I am sure the figures will then sky rocket

The Impact Of A Bomb's Shock Wave On The Brain

A computer simulation showed how a shock wave from bomb blasts can make skulls generate electric fields. Credit: Karen K. Y. Lee.

Study: Bomb's Shock Waves May Electrify the Brain -- Live Science

The blast waves from explosions could jolt the skull into generating electricity, potentially damaging the brain, scientists now suggest.

Although the burns and shrapnel wounds that explosions can inflict are their most obvious hazards, perhaps the greatest danger comes from a blast's shock wave. These rapidly generate ripples in a person's innards, potentially causing traumatic brain injuries with deleterious effects ranging from a simple concussion to long-term impaired mental function.

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My Comment: When one realizes that tens of thousands of US troops have been exposed to exploding IEDs and other explosions .... the long term medical care that these soldiers may need will only grow in numbers with time.

Using Animals For Military Tests

Photo: Jarod Behee is one of several thousand veterans who suffered a traumatic brain injury while in combat in Iraq.(ABC)

Military Used Pigs In Blasts To Test Armor -- USA Today

WASHINGTON — Military researchers have dressed live pigs in body armor and strapped them into Humvee simulators that were then blown up with explosives to study the link between roadside bomb blasts and brain injury.

For an 11-month period that ended in December, researchers subjected pigs and rats to about 200 blasts, according to Pentagon documents and interviews. The explosions have ranged in intensity, wounding some of the pigs and killing others. Roadside bombs are the top killer of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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My Comment: They must have gone through a lot of bacon.