Inside the mind: Warriors with non-visible injuries look forward, Marine Corps pushes for progress

From the outside looking in, Staff Sgt. Brian Murphy is an outspoken, motivated Marine. On the inside, he is learning to come to terms with a traumatic brain injury that is part of his everyday life.

Due to the increasing number of Marines being diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, the Marine Corps is taking a comprehensive approach to treat them by emphasizing our core components: prevent, provide, track and train, states Marine Administrative Message 294/12.

A traumatic brain injury is an injury to the head that can either be closed, where you cant actually see the injury, or open, for example where you can see shrapnel sticking out of the head, said Lt. Cmdr. Erin M. Simmons, the department head of Mental Health at the Cherry Point Naval Health Clinic.

Murphy sustained his injury while working as a machine gunner in Iraq on Feb. 7, 2005. The Humvee he was in struck a roadside bomb.

The administrative chief with Marine Wing Support Squadron 271s explosive ordnance section doesnt remember exactly what happened after the blast, but he remembers the shrapnel lodged into his face.

I went to a couple of different medical facilities where I got CAT scans to make sure that I didnt have any intracranial bleeding, he said. After that, I went back to my unit.

Murphy said the medical treatment Marines receive now for traumatic brain injuries is worlds apart from the care he received.

Back in 2005, there was no real focus on TBIs like there is now, he said. Blast injuries werent as prevalent. Now that we are in Afghanistan, we are a lot more foot mobile.

The Marine Corps traumatic brain injury program exists at installations across the Marine Corps to assist Marines dealing with brain injuries sustained in garrison and combat.

A lot of my friends in the EOD field have sustained brain injuries, he said. The care and treatment theyve received is amazing.

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Inside the mind: Warriors with non-visible injuries look forward, Marine Corps pushes for progress