On Friday, the Pentagon reported that 34 members of the US military sustained traumatic brain injuries this month during an Iraqi-based missile strike and while half returned to work, the overall number of casualties defied President Donald Trump’s initial claim that no Americans have been injured.
Eight of the wounded came from Germany Friday into the United States, with 9 others flown in Iraq on the Ain al-Asad airbase days after the Jan. 8 missile strike. The 9 still receive treatment and assessment in Deutschland, the largest US military hospital outside the mainland United States, at the Landesstuhl regional medical center.
The eight will be treated at the Walter Reed N Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, or in their home areas in the US, Jonathan Hoffman, Pentagon Chief spokesperson.
Trump initially said that no soldiers had been wounded during Iran’s attack as a reprisal for a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killing Iran’s strongest general, Qassem Soleimani, on Jan. 3.
At the moment of the Iranian attack, the issue of American losses became more important because the extent of destruction was seen to affect a US decision to respond and threaten a greater war with Iran. Trump agreed not to respond, and then the Iranians declared that their attack was sufficient. Since then, stresses have relieved.
On 17 January, after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of 11 service members from Iraq with signs of epilepsy, Trump said, “I heard they had headaches and some stuff… He said he didn’t regard the injuries as grave as those of troops hit by roadside bombs in Iraq. I can say that the injuries were not very serious, “he said.
Trump was asked to apologize by Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and retired Ranger Force.
The army has been more concerned about traumatic brain injury or TBI in recent years as medical science increases its understanding of its causes and effects on the function of the brain. It can affect perception, memory, vision, hearing and other functions to different degrees. The injury can vary greatly in severity and length.
Jefferson Kinney, a psychology expert from Las Vegas Nevada University and the director of the brain health Department said on Friday that there is still a lot to learn about TBI, including its behavioral effects.
The announcement by Hoffman that 34 TBI was diagnosed was the first official update on the injured number since the Pentagon reported that the first 11 had been evacuated. On 21 January, officials announced that more were sent out for further diagnosis and treatment from Iraq, but the Pentagon refused to provide any estimates or whether any were returning to the office.
