Traumatic Brain Injury: 18 Percent of Deployed Ft. Carson Troops Have Brain Injury

A 22-month long study of Fort Carson soldiers returning from Iraq found that nearly 18 percent of the soldiers had suffered from at least a mild traumatic brain injury. Of the nearly 13,440 soldiers studied, 2,392 showed some signs of brain injury. Symptoms of traumatic brain injury can include headaches, memory loss, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and balance problems.

18% Of Deployed Ft. Carson Troops Had Brain Injury

Colonel John Cho, who commands the Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, said, "as it turns out, TBI may very well be the signature injury of this war." Traumatic brain injuries are troubling because they are difficult to diagnose and symptoms often do not show up until long after a soldier has returned home. "Symptoms can present themselves at different points in time. And you might ask why. I can only surmise that when a soldier returns to the United States and is subjected to the activities of daily living -- traffic, making formation ... perhaps the stressors then bring some of these symptoms to light," Cho said.