Yeah, I have to agree. I am working for the VA on developing treatments for head injury, and since there really is no current treatment available, any good prospect is going to be fast-tracked into field testing. This isn’t because we view the soldiers as expendable guinea pigs, it’s because they can’t afford to wait for the red tape to be cleared. Yes, we want to make sure it’s safe first, but the prospect of nasty side effects probably isn’t as bad as the prospect of lifetime disability after a severe brain injury. Often times in these cases it’s a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils, so I wouldn’t rush to judgement here.
Also new drugs and treatments are field tested all the time to all kinds of people - they are called medical trials. This is nothing new nor is it shocking.