Finding on SEAL Suicides Didn't Make It to Navy Chiefs: Report

Brain damage from blasts, often from firing their own weapons, was found in dead servicemen
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 1, 2024 12:26 PM CDT
Report: Brain Damage Found in SEALs Who Died by Suicide
Stock photo of a Navy SEAL.   (Getty Images/zabelin)

At least a dozen Navy SEALs took their own lives over the past decade, while still on active duty or soon after leaving the military. The brains of eight of those troops were analyzed in a lab, and every one fit the same mold: They were all found to have suffered traumatic injuries from in-the-field blasts, "a stunning pattern with important implications for how SEALs train and fight," per the New York Times. The paper notes "the vast majority" of exposures to blasts experienced by Navy SEALs came from firing their own weapons, not from enemy attacks. And, perhaps most alarmingly, the US Navy says it had no idea about the suicides being tied to brain damage from blasts until the Times informed it. Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, head of brain injury rehab at Harvard Medical School, tells the paper that waves from blasts can kill brain cells subtly, not leading to any immediate symptoms.

"People may be getting injured without even realizing it," he notes. However, "over time, it can add up," until finally, after their brains struggle to compensate for so long, affected individuals "kind of fall off a cliff." Meanwhile, instead of being properly diagnosed, servicemembers can be told they have psychiatric disorders such as PTSD. The Times revelation syncs with a Harvard study published in April that found a link between blast exposure and "altered brain structure and compromised brain function" in the brains of 30 career special operators. But if this critical info never makes it to the people who set policy for training and operations, it's not terribly useful. "That's the problem," says one Navy officer said to be close to SEAL leaders. "We are trying to understand this issue, but so often the information never reaches us." (Read the story in full here.)

Stories to sink your teeth into.
Get our roundup of longform stories every Saturday.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X