Brain-injured urged to seek treatment

By Drew Brooks Staff writer

The explosion and the months that followed are still a blur to Sgt. Maj. Richard Steele, but the effects of the blast on his brain still linger.

The Special Forces soldier was in a vehicle hit by insurgents in Timagara, Pakistan, on Feb. 3, 2010. The attack left Steele with traumatic brain injury. But like many other soldiers with similar injuries, he hid the symptoms so he could return to duty sooner, despite the short-term memory loss, headaches and dizziness.

Steele shared his story at Womack Army Medical Center on Tuesday, speaking at a program to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries within the military. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month in the Army.

Maj. Gen. Richard Stone, the Army's deputy surgeon general, and Brig. Gen. Christian Juneau, a Fort Bragg deputy commanding general, also spoke.

Stone said he came to the "center of Army combat power" to spread the message that traumatic brain injuries are serious. Too often, he said, soldiers try to hide the signs of brain injuries to get back to work - a dangerous practice that only puts them at greater risk.

Stone said the number of such injuries reported by soldiers had increased 35 percent since 2006, which could be attributed to greater awareness.

The physical, emotional and cognitive problems associated with traumatic brain injuries can be overcome, he said, but only if the brain is given time to rest and rehabilitate.

Steele said it took months for his wounds to heal. Of the five men in the vehicle during the attack, only Steele and his commander survived.

Once Steele was weaned off painkillers and moved out of a hospital, not all of his injuries faded away. Still, he returned to Afghanistan later that year, serving as the operations sergeant major for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan in Bagram. Steele helped oversee more than 90 special operations teams, but he began treading water. Steele had to review his notes for hours each day in order to stay abreast of his job. He lacked focus, and his troubles caused his self-esteem to plummet.

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Brain-injured urged to seek treatment