On Day 59 of Iran War, Warren Warns of Delays in Care for Troops with Brain Injuries Caused by Combat

On Day 59 of Iran War, Warren Warns of Delays in Care for Troops with Brain Injuries Caused by Combat

On Day 59 of Iran War, Warren Warns of Delays in Care for Troops with Brain Injuries Caused by Combat

Top military leader agrees on importance of bipartisan DoD reforms to track traumatic brain injuries

In the war against Iran, traumatic brain injuries have become the "signature injury" for soldiers

Warren: "We need to have dedicated resources to support our troops who are suffering from brain injuries."

Video of Exchange (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. - At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Personnel Subcommittee, questioned Admiral Frank M. Bradley, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), on alarming reports of service members sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in President Trump's illegal war with Iran.

Since the start of the war, at least 400 service members have been injured, and TBIs have already become the "signature injury" of the war. According to reports, there are injured soldiers who are going weeks without seeing a doctor and getting a diagnosis despite having TBI symptoms. Senator Warren highlighted the story of soldiers injured in the March 1st Iranian drone strike that killed six service members in Kuwait who did not receive care for weeks, despite serious potential long-term effects of TBIs such as increased risks of suicide, seizures, and memory loss.

In response to Senator Warren's concerns about these delays, Admiral Bradley agreed that service members shouldn't have to wait nearly a month for care. He also agreed that it's important to catch these brain injuries earlier rather than later. Additionally, Admiral Bradley backed up Senator Warren's calls for comprehensive data logs on these injuries, which "will help to inform not only treatment but also [a] means to be able to prevent it in its outset." Currently, DoD only requires cognitive assessments every five years and SOCOM every three.

Senator Warren, along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Senator Angus King (I-Maine), and several other Senators, previously introduced the Blast Overpressure Safety Act, which would address these problems by directing the DoD to conduct more regular cognitive screening and establish comprehensive logs to be able to track exposure.

Admiral Bradley also expressed his support for outside programs like the Comprehensive Brain Health and Trauma Program at Home Base in Massachusetts, saying Special Operators have found the program "critical." Home Base is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to treating the invisible wounds of veterans, servicemembers, military families, and families of the fallen. The program has helped 95% of special operators that it's treated get back into the field.

He also emphasized the need for DoD to institutionalize these programs as a next step. "We need to have dedicated resources to support our troops who are suffering from brain injuries," concluded Senator Warren. "The Trump administration has plunged us into a war and is asking Congress for a record $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon. It is outrageous that we would be cutting corners on treating wounded warriors."

Senator Warren has continuously fought for the health and well-being of our servicemembers and veterans:

• In December 2025, following the passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY26 NDAA), Senator Warren secured key wins on service members' health and safety.

• In July 2025, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warren secured support from Vice Admiral Bradley to partner with outside experts to conduct a longitudinal study of blast overpressure.

• In March 2025, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mike Crapo (R-Ind.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) reintroduced the Major Richard Star Act, bipartisan legislation to provide combat-injured veteran retirees their full benefits.

• In December 2024, following the passage of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY25 NDAA), U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren secured new protections for servicemembers from blast overpressure.

• In September 2024, leading a Senate forum, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned brain health experts from the Department of Defense (DoD) and Home Base, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to treating the invisible wounds of veterans, servicemembers, military families, and families of the fallen, about the importance of improving access to care for servicemembers, establishing a longitudinal study to better understand other health effects that may be connected to blast overpressure, and addressing the link between blast overpressure and suicide.

• In May 2024, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Ernst (R-Iowa), and Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Department of Defense's (DoD) efforts to identify, prevent, and treat traumatic brain injuries (TBI) related to service members' exposure to blast overpressure. The GAO accepted this review.

• In April 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, introduced the Blast Overpressure Safety Act - bipartisan legislation that would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to enact a variety of measures to help mitigate and protect service members from blast overpressure.

• In February 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, led a hearing on the impacts of blast overpressure on American service members and the need for the Department of Defense (DoD) to better protect service members from blast overpressure.

Transcript: Hearings to examine the posture of United States Special Operations Command and United States Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program.
Senate Armed Services Committee
April 28, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I want to talk about what's going on with our troops when they're injured. We have 400 troops at least, so far, who've been injured in President Trump's war with Iran, and now traumatic brain injuries have become the "signature injury" of the war against Iran.

Research has shown that special operators are at a higher risk of blast exposure and TBI, which, as you know, increases the risk of suicide, seizures, and memory loss. Several hundred special operators are now deployed in the Middle East, and I'm very concerned about whether or not our troops are getting the care that they need for these injuries. For instance, we know about a soldier who was injured in the Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, and he was promised TBI care once they made it out of the war zone. But even after being shipped to Germany and then to Texas, the soldier didn't receive care for weeks.

So, Admiral Bradley, do you think that wounded soldiers should have to wait nearly a month to see a doctor?

Admiral Frank Bradley: Senator, in the hypothetical, I absolutely don't believe that. I don't know the details of the situation, though.

Senator Warren: Fair enough, yeah, but that's the real point. We can agree they need help, and they need to be evaluated right away. And this committee has worked on a bipartisan basis to help service members with brain injuries, but without records of these injuries, it becomes harder and harder to get care. That's particularly critical for high-speed boat teams and special operators, given the exposure to these pounding waves and high-caliber weapons. Boat team leaders have described how "the damage piles up almost unnoticed for years and then cascades." But DoD requires cognitive assessments only every five years, and SOCOM every three.

I have a bipartisan bill with Senators Ernst and King and others on this committee to make sure that these injuries don't fall through the cracks, including by requiring more regular screening and logs to be able to track exposure.

Admiral Bradley, the effects of TBI can compound over time, as we know. Do you agree that it is better if we catch these brain injuries earlier rather than later?

Admiral Bradley: Senator, I absolutely do.

Senator Warren: Good, and do you support keeping better records so that we're able to do that and more frequent evaluations?

Admiral Bradley: Senator, I do. It is critical to be able to understand the mechanisms of harm that come from these various sources that we don't understand very well. And that data, those logs, that data, will help to inform not only treatment but also means to be able to prevent it in its outset.

Senator Warren: Good. I appreciate that. You know the fact that troops have faced long wait lists to get specialty care for brain health within DoD's military system, and one of the ways that DOD has tried to address these wait lists by partnering with outside experts like Home Base back in Massachusetts. Home Base's Comprehensive Brain Health and Trauma Program has helped get 95% of special operators that it's treated back into the field.

Admiral Bradley, in your experience, have special operators benefited from programs like Home Base?

Admiral Bradley: Senator, absolutely. ComBHaT is a critical part. We also have partnerships with UNC, University of North Carolina, and Southern Florida, and several others to be able to do the same thing. They are all very capable and progressing programs. I think, as you highlight, institutionalizing those beyond the pilot, that they are into something that is a part of our mainstream system that can then be treated with TRICARE and with our VA systems, is a critical next step.

Senator Warren: I very much appreciate your point about institutionalizing it. We can't just treat this as a one-off. We know the problem exists. We've got to record, we've got to document, and we've got to have people who can treat it. We need to have dedicated resources to support our troops who are suffering from brain injuries. The Trump administration has plunged us into a war and is asking Congress for a record $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon. It is outrageous that we would be cutting corners on treating wounded warriors. Thank you, Admiral. I look forward to working with you on this.

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