Eleven US troops flown to hospitals from al Asad Air Base in days after Iran missile attack

Published: Jan 16, 2020

By: Stars and Stripes

Author: Corey Dickstein

-- WASHINGTON — Eleven U.S. service members were flown to military hospitals in Kuwait and Germany to be evaluated for brain injuries suffered in the Jan. 8 Iranian missile attack on al Asad Air Base in Iraq, senior defense officials said Friday.

Three service members were flown to a facility at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and the others were sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after displaying signs of concussions, defense officials said Thursday. Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said Friday that al Asad is not outfitted with an MRI machine or other tools necessary for advanced brain injury examinations.

“As a standard procedure, all personnel in the vicinity of a blast are screened for traumatic brain injury, and if deemed appropriate are transported to a higher level of care,” Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a prepared statement.

CLICK HERE to read the full publication by Stars and Stripes.