{"id":83581,"date":"2024-10-18T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/10\/18\/how-changes-in-army-training-could-limit-troop-brain-injuries\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:05:17","slug":"how-changes-in-army-training-could-limit-troop-brain-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2024\/10\/18\/how-changes-in-army-training-could-limit-troop-brain-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"How changes in Army training could limit troop brain injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sending soldiers to the firing range once a week for a month instead of four days in a row might be able to improve their long-term brain health.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s one of the preliminary findings from Army researchers conducting baseline cognitive screenings<\/a> in an effort to better track \u2014 and prevent \u2014 brain injuries among troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, which kicked off in August, created a database of troops\u2019 normal brain functions<\/a> to provide health officials with a baseline to compare against soldier brains following long deployments, head trauma or other potential damaging incidents. Officials are currently screening new enlistees and individuals in some high-risk jobs, with the goal of reaching all troops by fall 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service also plans to re-screen soldiers every few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are times that service members may sustain or have a cognitive change that they have not even recognized yet,\u201d Dr. Steven Porter, a neuroscientist at the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General working on the project, said Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual conference. \u201cWhat the testing will be able to do for us is to identify that change and catch it early, so we can prevent any sort of ongoing or continued injury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t