ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – A little over a year ago, in June 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense launched the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative (WBHI) to bring together the operational and medical communities in a more unified approach toward optimizing service member brain health and countering traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The WBHI specifically focuses on assessing cognitive capabilities, monitoring brain threats, including blast overpressure, and minimizing the effects and risks from exposures and TBIs to improve a Warfighter’s overall performance.
One of the goals of the initiative was to track a service member’s brain health from initial entry into the military all the way to retirement.
“We want you in for the long haul, and we want you to have a highly functional and productive life when you leave the military,” said Kathy Lee, lead for the WBHI and director of Casualty Management for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.