The crisis between Iran and the United States has left about thirty-four US soldiers with concussion or traumatic brain.
Recall that retaliatory strikes the Iranian military fired on US bases on January 8 was confirmed by Pentagon to have missed the US soldiers. Time has now shown that the strikes may not have burnt the US soldiers but it has left 34 of them with brain injuries that could alter their lives.
The Iranian strikes were launched in retaliation for the death of their top general, Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a United States drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump.
The Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Friday that eight service members who had been previously transported to Germany had been moved to the United States.
This comes days after Trump played down the injuries, saying service personnel had suffered “headaches” in the aftermath.
President Trump had said that the US “suffered no casualties” from the attack.
Questioned later about reports of brain injury, Trump downplayed their severity: “I heard that they had headaches. And a couple of other things. But I would say, and I can report, it is not very serious.”
Hoffman confirmed the injuries on Friday, adding: “This is a snapshot in time, what he wanted to make sure is that you’re provided with the most accurate numbers.”
Michael Kaplen, chair of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council and past president of the Brain Injury Association of New York State said that he was “shocked at the ignorant statement” made by Trump.
“To equate traumatic brain injuries as just a headache is insulting and disrespectful to the thousands of military service members suffering from the signature wound of the Iraq/Afghanistan conflict,” he said.
He added that the condition, also known as TBI, is a “life-altering” injury.
“It’s physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences affect every aspect of an individual’s life,” he said. “A brain injury is only ‘mild’ if it is someone else’s brain. There is nothing “mild” about a mild brain injury.”
