Navy not doing enough to study long-term brain damage in aviators, lawmakers say
BLUF – A House investigation found that the Navy has not adequately studied or mitigated potential long-term neurological damage among naval aviators despite reports of memory loss, depression, anxiety and suicides in the F/A-18 community, with existing programs better suited to identifying acute injuries than tracking cumulative effects of repeated high-G forces and carrier launches. For Navy Medicine, the findings highlight the need for longitudinal brain-health research, improved exposure tracking and screening, and a culture in which aviators can seek neurological and mental health care without fearing loss of flight status or damage to their careers.