From Military.com:
"Number of Troops Diagnosed with
TBI After Iran Missile Attack Rises to 109”
The number of troops diagnosed
with traumatic brain injury following Iran's ballistic missile attack on Al
Asad airbase, Iraq has now risen to 109, the Pentagon said Monday. The latest
figures represent a dramatic increase from the last Pentagon injury report
published in late January, which listed 74 TBI victims. They also mean that at
least 5% of the estimated 2,000 U.S. troops at Al Asad suffered from the
concussive effects of about 15 Iranian missiles fired at the airbase. All 109
cases of TBI have been diagnosed as "mild traumatic brain injury,"
the Pentagon said in a statement, but the injuries were deemed serious enough
to send 48 of those troops to medical facilities in Landstuhl, Germany, or the
U.S. for further evaluation. The numbers could go up again, the Pentagon said,
but added that about 70% of the total of 109 troops diagnosed thus far with TBI
have already returned to duty in Iraq. The Jan. 8 missile attack on Al Asad was
retaliation for a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on Jan. 3
that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani. In a White House news
conference on Jan. 4, President Donald Trump said initial reports indicated
that there were no injuries to U.S. troops from the Iranian attack. When
reports of TBI surfaced, Trump likened the injuries to "headaches,"
drawing criticism from veterans groups. "We are grateful to the efforts of
our medical professionals who have worked diligently to ensure the appropriate
level of care for our service members, which has enabled nearly 70 percent of
those diagnosed to return to duty," Pentagon Press Secretary Alyssa Farah
said in a statement accompanying the most recent assessment. Last week,
Pentagon chief spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said at a Pentagon briefing that
those who suffered TBI at Al Asad could be eligible for Purple Hearts, but
noted the service branches would make final decisions on the awards.
^ The longer we wait from the
missile attack the more the truth actually comes out. ^
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/10/number-troops-diagnosed-tbi-after-iran-missile-attack-rises-109.html
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