Posted on 10/27/2007 1:50:38 PM PDT by neverdem
Associated Press
LONDON - The British government is conducting a survey of its soldiers to determine if those exposed to powerful explosions in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered mild traumatic brain injuries, the Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
The ministry said it has begun distributing questionnaires to British troops in both countries as part of a self-assessment program to see if they have symptoms such as memory loss, depression and anxiety.
The Guardian newspaper, which first reported the survey, said it followed concerns within the U.S. Army that up to 20 percent of its returning soldiers and Marines were suffering from these conditions.
The newspaper said Saturday that the condition has been designated by the Pentagon as one of the four "signature injuries" of the Iraq war. Powerful roadside bombs targeting U.S. and British convoys are one of the main risks that soldiers face in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defense said Saturday that it was working alongside a U.S. investigation of the condition, in part to determine how widespread it may be.
"It is a very, very complex area. We have no way of knowing whether that (the U.S. assessment) is accurate because there is a level of dispute as to what constitutes mTBI," or mild traumatic brain injury, the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry regulations.
The spokesman said mTBI's symptoms may last for as little as 72 hours, and can disappear entirely within several weeks or months.
The condition, which also is associated with contact sports such as rugby and boxing, can occur when a soldier suffers a blow to the head or is near an explosion.
I don’t know enough to have an opinion but I am worried that, with it’s nebulous criteria and obvious enthusiasm expressed by the MSM, we’re looking at the PTSD/Agent Orange syndrome for the new generation.
Look for the next bearded, booze-soaked TBD victim in tattered ACU’s at a bus depot near you...
Human nature being what it is, if there's a buck (or in this case a pound) in it, they'll find it.
Does banging your head against the ground 5X a day praying to satan cause brain damage?
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From what I’ve read, MTBI can easily occur from most contact sports - football, rugby, lacrosse, wrestling, even soccer (from heading the ball). No surprise if it’s happened from close-by IEDs.
That’s a preexisting condition, to even begin doing it.
My son was close to an incoming rocket (10 meters) earlier this month. His hearing was a bit punky for a day or two but it didn’t take his mind of the World Series. He will be bugged if someone keeps trying to think he isn’t fine.
It’s just that ....a concussion like injury. No more , no less...... now if ya win the IED lotto and survive 4 or more times in a calender year ya got bit issues. No less than a QB being told to quit after a few bad concussions or the next one could be really bad........long term progressive / cumulative damage was how it was explained to us after a few too close calls.
I'm glad your son appears OK, but his hearing might have taken a permanent beating in the high frequency range. I hope not. Prayers were offered.
What kind of rocket, the old Russian 122 mm? You never hear much about the ordnance being used.
At a time when I was sleeping in an armored personnel carrier(APC), I woke up to answer a call of nature. I finished my business and got back inside the APC when a 122 mm rocket detonated maybe a few meters from where I had just stood. It felt like being in a bell. I left the door in the ramp of the APC open. The shrapnel mangled the door so badly that the door had to be replaced.
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