The Human Cost of War

Photo: Michael Kamber

Thousands of soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grapple with deployment- and combat-related stress and traumatic brain injury (TBI). According to the 2008 RAND Corporation study “The Invisible Wounds of War,” of the 1.64 million service members who have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, nearly 20 percent of veterans who served in these ongoing conflicts experienced a concussion or other traumatic brain injury during their tours of duty.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported:

Traumatic brain injury is one of the hidden wounds of war. And the military, faced with a deadly roadside bomb threat in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been trying to get a grip on the problem. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, has said the service needs to do a better job of diagnosing invisible blast injuries.

Here’s the story of one returning hero and his experience: