FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Before they leave for Iraq, thousands of troops with the 101st Airborne Division line up at laptop computers to take a test: basic math, matching numbers and symbols, and identifying patterns. They press a button quickly to measure response time.
It’s all part of a fledgling Army program that records how soldiers’ brains work when healthy, giving doctors baseline data to help diagnose and treat the soldiers if they suffer a traumatic brain injury — the signature injury of the Iraq war.
“This allows the Army to be much more proactive,” said Lt. Col. Mark McGrail, division surgeon for the 101st. “We don’t want to wait until the soldier is getting out of the Army to say, ’But I’ve had these symptoms.”’
The mandatory brain-function tests are starting with the 101st at Fort Campbell and are expected to spread to other military bases in the next couple of months. Commanders at each base will decide whether to adopt the program.
