Combat Veteran Warns Current TBI Screenings Fail Troops, Advocates for Tech Solution

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alan Johnson, a survivor of the 2020 Iranian missile strike on Al-Asad Air Base, recently informed Congress that the military's current methods for diagnosing traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) frequently miss injuries in combat zones. Johnson, who sustained a TBI himself during the attack, highlighted that the standard checklist-based screenings are impractical in austere environments and easily manipulated by soldiers eager to return to duty. This often leads to delayed diagnoses, with symptoms emerging days or weeks after initial exposure, creating a misleading picture of casualty numbers immediately following incidents.

Johnson emphasized that soldiers often downplay or hide symptoms, contributing to underreporting, a phenomenon he believes influenced former President Trump's initial assessment of the Al-Asad strike casualties as "just a bunch of headaches." He is now advocating for the adoption of a new smartphone-based app designed to assess TBI symptoms more objectively. This proposed tool tracks eye movement, vocal pitch stability, and motor skills, comparing results against demographic baselines to provide a more accurate and "unfalsifiable" assessment of brain injury.

The issue of undiagnosed TBIs remains critical, especially as U.S. troops face renewed long-distance attacks in combat zones. Over half a million service members have suffered TBIs since 2000, underscoring the pervasive nature of these injuries in modern warfare. Johnson's testimony, delivered amidst recent Iranian missile attacks, stresses the urgency of improving diagnostic capabilities to ensure service members receive timely and appropriate care for these often-delayed and subtle injuries.