Special Forces face down impacts of war on terror

The Pentagon’s Special Operations Command — known as SOCOM — is looking into how brain trauma from the 17-year war on terror in the Middle East has impacted elite US troops.

First led by former SOCOM chief, Gen. Tony Thomas, the command is examining whether trauma suffered by special operators, including brain fatigue and abnormalities in the visual cortex, impact the ability of elite troops to make snap decisions in the field.

The program includes an eight-year effort by the US Army’s Special Operations Command to conduct neurological testing on its troops, supported by the National Football League and the University of North Carolina, to establish a baseline to treat mild traumatic brain injuries, according to military officials and documents reviewed by Al-Monitor.

SOCOM is still looking for more funding to draw finite conclusions from its findings. But as the Donald Trump administration looks to turn the US military’s focus away from the Middle East, former officers say repeated special forces rotations into Iraq and Afghanistan have led to increased stress on elite American troops.