http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13691.htmlWounded-troops tally not even close to reality
Posted November 23rd, 2007 at 10:40 am
The bad news is, over 30,000 American troops have been seriously injured during service in Iraq and Afghanistan, including over 4,000 soldiers and Marines with brain injuries. The far worse news is that those numbers aren’t even close to the actual casualty numbers.
At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY.
The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs, show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the 4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also are not reflected in the Pentagon’s official tally of wounded, which stands at 30,327.
The number of brain-injury cases were tabulated from records kept by the VA and four military bases that house units that have served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Apparently, the discrepancy comes as a result of time. Troops whose wounds are discovered after they return home are not added to the official tally.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, said the total number of Americans who may have suffered head injuries in combat maybe total as many as 150,000 — about 10% of the 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq
“I am wary that the number of brain-injured troops far exceeds the total number reported injured,” he says.