Pentagon Urged to Act on Military Blast Exposure Health Risks

The Department of Defense (DOD) must assess the resources needed to monitor its research into military blast exposure.That is the key finding of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study published on Tuesday, which investigated the department’s ability to monitor occupational blast exposure—a condition thataccumulates over time when military personnel are exposed to weapons, training and other blasts.

GAO reviewed DOD policies and conducted interviews with personnel during its research. The department also visited four military installations while making its report, which concluded the secretary of defense should assess the resources used to monitor cognitive assessments of service members and the resources needed to track blast exposure.

Military.com reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), GAO and the DOD for comment.

GAO Report’s Findings and Recommendations

GAO found that, in Fiscal Year 2025, 198,161 new service members completed cognitive assessments upon joining military service.

But DOD officials told GAO they were hampered by resource constraints, like lack of staff and technology to conduct these assessments. They said this might affect their ability to expand these assessments in the future.

DOD officials also said there was sometimes a lack of tracking in terms of weapons used and exposures from these weapons to help aid their research into service members exposed to hazards.

As a result of its research, GAO said the DOD should “conduct comprehensive assessments of the resources needed to implement its cognitive assessment and exposure tracking requirements.”

Dangers of Military Blast Exposure

Evidence increasingly suggests that troops are at risk of brain injury-causing blast overpressure, not just from enemy attacks but also from routine military activities—such as repeatedly firing artillery.

These brain injuries are linked to issues such as an increased risk of suicide and the developing of Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2024, the Pentagon announced new policies to limit blast exposure, including giving new military recruits baseline cognitive testing and ensuring training instructors stand farther away when some weapons are fired.

The GAO’s findings come after a new study found that veterans exposed to repeated military blasts are more likely to develop anger, aggression and violence than those who are not.

Using a large language model, researchers from the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System and the University of Utah analyzed more than 3.6 million clinical notes to find incidents of these extreme moods in people in the military.

The study, “When the Fuse Is Lit: Association of Military Occupational Blast Exposure With Anger, Aggression, and Violence,” was published in Military Medicine.