Army study "troops suffer concussions in training"

Army study finds that troops suffer concussions in training
Brain specialists: Army’s training may make soldiers more vulnerable to head injuries on battlefield
By JOAQUIN SAPIEN, PROPUBLICA AND DANIEL ZWERDLING
NPR
Published: August 24, 2012

A new military study has found that almost 6 percent of soldiers who took hand-to-hand combat courses at a Texas Army base were struck in the head and suffered symptoms the Pentagon says are consistent with concussions, also called mild traumatic brain injuries.

Over the last decade, hundreds of thousands of soldiers have taken such classes – called “combatives” – at bases nationwide before deploying overseas.

Researchers stress that the study is relatively small, drawing from classes at Ft. Hood with just under 2,000 soldiers. And they haven’t finished the study yet. But the preliminary results have sparked concern among brain specialists inside and outside the military, suggesting that some soldiers went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan having suffered mild traumatic brain injuries in training – and might have been more vulnerable to long-term consequences from additional concussions later.
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