A bipartisan group of senators is demanding to know what steps the military is taking to protect troops from brain injuries caused by the blasts from firing their own weapons.
The senators — Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts; Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa; and Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina — made the demand in a detailed letter sent on Thursday to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.
It was incited by recent research by the Defense Department and reporting by The New York Times showing that repeated blast exposure from weapons like artillery and rocket launchers can cause lasting and profound brain damage, but that the military often fails to protect troops, or even recognize the risks, from the blasts.
“Our service members have been suffering the health consequences of blast overexposure for far too long, and they’re still not seeing real action to limit and track these risks,” Ms. Warren said in a statement.
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