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July 9, 2008 6:44:49 AM CDT

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Pentagon Delayed Brain Scans for Returning Troops

Posted Mar 18, 08 6:57 PM CDT in Politics,  Science & Health    Most Covered

(Newser) – Seeking to duck controversy, the Pentagon did not screen returning US troops for brain injuries for more than 2 years. Top brass feared that soldiers would blame minor health woes on brain trauma—which could spark another Gulf War Syndrome, Air Force Col. Kenneth Cox told USA Today. But one lawmaker blasted the move as "baloney. There was no need to delay this."

A report last month found 11% of soldiers surveyed had signs of brain injury, but few were treated. Now the Pentagon is taking action: Future returners will be screened immediately. "Here we are five years into this war, and the Pentagon is just now coming to grips with how to track and treat those" with traumatic brain injury, one lawmaker said.

Source USA Today

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At left, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates greets troops returning home from Iraq for a two-week leave.   (AP Photo/Ron Heflin)
Darcy Woodke, right, family assistance coordinator in Oregon for the U.S. military, receives a hug from Oregon Army National Guard Pfc. Benjamin Webber, who has returned from service in Iraq.   (AP Photo/Rick Don Ryan)
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates greets troops returning home for a two-week leave from Iraq at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas, Thursday, May 3, 2007.   (AP Photo/Ron Heflin)
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health  • US military  • Pentagon  • Robert Gates  • American troops  • traumatic brain injury  • health screenings  • brain scans


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