Iran Conflict Highlights Service-Member Traumatic Brain Injuries

U.S. troops engaged in the ongoing Iran-related conflict are reporting a surge of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Public statements from military officials indicate that nearly 700 service members have been wounded by drone and missile attacks on bases in the Middle East and elsewhere. The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, described most of the injuries recorded over a recent two-week span as “minor concussions,” a term that typically denotes mild TBIs that can resolve within weeks but may also lead to prolonged symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and “brain fog.”

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Blast-induced TBIs differ from the blunt-force injuries common in earlier wars. Dr. James Kelly, an emeritus professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief medical scientist at the Invisible Wounds Foundation, explains that “the blast wave itself can be injurious.” ¹ Experts note that the shift from ground-level improvised explosives to drones that explode nearer to soldiers’ heads creates a new injury mechanism. The military has diagnosed more than 500,000 service members with TBIs between 2000 and 2025, 82 % of which were classified as mild, though many cases may be undercounted because symptoms overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Former Marine Joe Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, recounts two 2005 blasts in Iraq that later manifested as chronic migraines, vertigo, and memory lapses. He says, “You don’t want to be the guy who goes to sick call or says, ‘Oh, I’m hurt,’ because you’re away from your team.” ² Army veteran Frank Sonntag, 75, of Queen Creek, Arizona, describes a 2004 mortar blast that left him unable to speak fluently for months until speech therapy helped him rebuild language skills. ³ Spencer Milo, 41, of Parker, Colorado, adds that many service members “wish it was that simple” when confronting invisible brain injuries. 4

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The agency’s statement underscores ongoing screening protocols, though veterans report gaps in follow-up care. 5 She is pressing the military to release the findings of its investigation into the March 1 Iranian drone strike that killed six U.S. soldiers.

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• “The blast wave itself can be injurious,” — Dr. James Kelly

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• “I spoke directly with Wisconsinites who sustained traumatic brain injuries from (President Donald) Trump’s war in Iran and went weeks without so much as a screening, let alone specialized care, for their injuries,” — Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin

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• “You don’t want to be the guy who goes to sick call or says, ‘Oh, I’m hurt,’ because you’re away from your team,” — Shearer, 40, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, links both events in 2005 totraumatic brain injuries

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• “Speech therapy was one of the greatest things I had,” — Frank Sonntag, something army veteran

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• “There’s still so much we don’t know about the brain, but one thing that we do know is it can heal itself,” — Kelly Parker, director of independent services at the Wounded Warrior Project

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