The U.S. Department of Defense doesn’t have enough staff or technology to complete cognitive assessments for all high-risk, active-duty service members.
Those are the conclusions in a new report from the Government Accountability Office. It found that only 86% of required assessments were completed last year.
The assessments are part of an effort to monitor the brain health of service members exposed to blasts, and were ordered in the wake of a mass shooting in Lewiston by Army Reservist Robert Card.
Card, the man who killed 18 people in Lewiston in October 2023, was repeatedly exposed to blasts as a reservist. Forensic testing found he had a brain injury, raising questions about whether it was related to his service.
The Department of Defense said it will conduct reviews to determine what resources are needed to assess and monitor brain health.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.