Almost all Army personnel whose jobs involve high explosives, such as combat engineering, field artillery and bomb disposal, have taken a test to help counter the effects of blast overpressure and exposure, officials said.
The Army last week said 97% of troops have taken the Neurocognitive Assessment Tool to track soldiers’ brain health and support recovery from traumatic brain injuries.
All soldiers must take the assessment at least once every three years. Troops whose career fields regularly put them in contact with explosives have to take it annually. They also take the test before a deployment and after an injury or suspected concussion, officials said.
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“It demonstrates our commitment to cognitive safety, medical readiness and warfighting capability,” said Jordan Gillis, assistant Army secretary for installations, energy and environment, whose office oversees safety and occupational health.
The National Institutes of Health has said that continuous exposure to blast shock waves has been linked to traumatic brain injury (TBI).
From 2000 to 2022, more than 450,000 U.S. service members were diagnosed with TBI during training or combat. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act required the Pentagon to study the effectiveness of routine neuroimaging in diagnosing, treating and preventing brain injury.
Army treatment programs will include risk assessment and mitigation, exposure tracking, cognitive monitoring, and illness and injury reporting, officials said.
“It affects everyone differently,” Mr. Gillis said. “The takeaway is we are trying to take care of soldiers and monitor their health. And if there is an impact, we’ll be able to treat them.”
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