Grim Echoes of Iraq, Afghanistan in Veterans Policies

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Chris Hondros/Getty Images File Photo
Marcos Muniz, right, a sergeant in the Army, jokes with his friend Nathan Greene, a fellow sergeant, after arriving at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in 2006 in Landstuhl, Germany. The military has treated some 40,000 survivors with severe to moderate brain injuries suffered in connection with the wars, according to the Congressional Research Service.

By Kerry Young
Roll Call Staff
July 5, 2013, 11:30 a.m.

The late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who lost an arm fighting in World War II, once observed that advances in transportation and medicine were allowing soldiers to survive battlefield wounds that would have been a death sentence during his time in combat.

“In my case, it took nine hours to evacuate me. Nine hours? That is a long time. But in Italy, they have hills. We had no helicopters in those days. You had to be carried by hand. As a result, no brain injuries survived and no double amputees survived,” the Hawaii Democrat said in a 2010 floor speech.

Now, advanced treatment on battlefields followed by quick transport to more sophisticated medical care has shifted the odds of survival in war zones. The military has treated some 40,000 survivors with severe to moderate brain injuries suffered in connection with the wars, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The near-miraculous interventions that have spared many lives have also strained the resources of veterans health services and the ability of service providers to manage both the rehabilitation and the years of continual support that have grown out of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Added to this is the widespread post-traumatic stress disorder reported by veterans — the grim echoes of a decade of war.

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