U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) visited the American Legion in Endicott Friday to announce legislation that would address traumatic brain injuries among veterans and service members.
Service members can end up with traumatic brain injuries in a variety of ways, such as combat injuries or accidents. But growing evidence suggests the shock waves that come from firing weapons, such as artillery rounds—even during training—can also do damage to the brain.
Those shock waves are called “blast overpressure”. Gillibrand said they can cause brain injuries, leading to symptoms that include seizures, hallucinations, anxiety and suicidal tendencies.
“When you're firing heavy weapons like artillery, mortars or shoulder-fired rockets, you're doing it over and over again, it starts to take a toll on your body,” Gillibrand said. “It starts to create irreparable harm to your brain.”
Gillibrand said at least a dozen Navy SEALS who died by suicide over the past decade were later found to have suffered blast injuries.
“These injuries aren't solely caused because of combat. They're also caused because of accidents and actual training exercises,” Gillibrand said. “The repeated exposure to the blast pressure from our troops’ own weapons, we believe, is the cause of these [traumatic brain injuries].”
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, nearly 185,000 veterans who receive health care from VA centers have been diagnosed with at least one traumatic brain injury.
An investigation published by the New York Times in November found many troops sent to fight in Syria and Iraq in 2016 and 2017 returned with the symptoms of traumatic brain injury after firing tens of thousands of high-explosive artillery shells.
Gillibrand said the new legislation, called the “Blast Overpressure Safety Act”, would mandate regular screenings of service members to check for traumatic brain injuries. The bill would require the Department of Defense to train high-risk service members on recognizing the symptoms of blast overpressure injuries, and gather more data on traumatic brain injuries.
Gillibrand, who co-sponsored the bill, said it would also require the federal government to factor in the risk of blast overpressure when purchasing weapons. It also mandates protections for service members seeking treatment.
The bill was introduced in April, and has fairly bipartisan support in Congress.