Troops near blasts will be checked right after from now on

New rules for troops hit by IED blasts

By Gregg Zoroya - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Mar 3, 2010 13:39:26 EST

WASHINGTON — Troops caught near a roadside blast will be pulled out of combat for 24 hours and checked for a mild traumatic brain injury, even if they appear unhurt or say they are fine, according to a new treatment policy the Pentagon is planning to release.

“Very clearly, we’re sort of taking it out of their hands,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who pushed hard for the policy change. “The sooner you’re able to treat somebody and get it right, the higher the probability you’ll reduce the long-term impacts [of brain injury]. So speed is really important here.”

The policy change stems from growing concerns that troops suffer a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in combat — or more than one — and go undetected, Mullen told USA TODAY in an interview. “We need to treat ... more quickly and then we need to keep track of people,” he said.

The Pentagon is “likely to issue” the policy in the next several weeks, spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

A RAND Corp. study estimated in 2008 that 300,000 U.S. troops may have suffered this injury, many from a blast. About 100,000 troops have been diagnosed with mild TBI since 2003, with numbers increasing as military medicine has become more aggressive in screening for the hidden injury, according to Pentagon data.
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New rules for troops hit by IED blasts