According to a report by The Associated Press on October 5, whether the U.S. military has made adequate preparations for treating wounded soldiers has become a heated issue of controversy. Soldiers and their families told The Associated Press that the military failed to recognize the severity of the injuries, the arrangements for transporting wounded soldiers to hospitals were poor, and subsequent treatment was also hindered by bureaucratic procedures. The Pentagon claimed that the related medical care was appropriate.
Several injured US military personnel spoke publicly with The Associated Press, describing the medical system they faced. It is said that this system forced them to seek treatment on their own. The soldiers told The Associated Press that medical care issues were just one of the failures exposed by the military during the attack in Shuaiba Port.
The criticism from the soldiers has its context: for many years, successive governments and political leaders have been underinvesting in the Middle East and reducing their military presence, attempting to end U.S. involvement in the region. These choices have resulted in the absence of any large-scale medical facilities operated by the United States in the region.
Lin Kong was born in Texas, and his parents are Mexican. On the battlefield, he suffered damage to his left vertebral artery, putting him at risk of a stroke. However, the U.S. Army considered his injury "not serious enough" to justify keeping him in a military medical center in the German town of Lansleiter, which is an important facility for the U.S. military.
On the contrary, he was sent to a nearby army barracks, and was only told to make an appointment for an outpatient visit.
"At least from a feeling standpoint, I can basically only rely on myself," said Lin Kong, who participated in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is reported that after the drone attack, soldiers equipped with tourniquets and trained in first aid had to treat each other. They also searched online using Google to race against time in order to send the wounded to the nearest hospital in Kuwait City, which took about 20 minutes.
Some of the soldiers with severe injuries were transported to medical care in Kuwait within two days. Lincong was only about 7 feet (2.1 meters) from the explosion site. He stayed in a local hospital for a week, underwent surgery, and had shrapnel removed from his mouth. He said that medical staff told him that the explosion caused traumatic brain damage, resulting in a ruptured eardrum and temporary blindness.
Ten days after the attack occurred, some soldiers were loaded onto a cargo plane. They were strapped into harnesses and seated on the floor of the cargo hold.
Upon arriving in Germany, the fourth lieutenant Rodney Bellman said that they learned they were not registered as having suffered combat injuries, and therefore they would not be hospitalized in Lanschtr. Instead, they were sent to a military camp like Lincon, and told to receive treatment at an outpatient clinic. Bellman said that they were registered in this way due to a coding error.
Having served for over thirty years, including a period in Afghanistan, Belman said, "I never thought that something like this could happen if I were injured. A sacred trust that I thought would never be broken was broken."
Larmsborton was an officer who was thrown off his chair during the explosion. Several weeks after being diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, he had no access to treatment and had to find specialized doctors such as neurologists on his own to diagnose the vision loss caused by the brain injury, rather than relying on the military medical system.
Major Billy Ke also said that it took him until mid-April to be sent to a United States military rehabilitation unit for treatment of head injuries, hearing loss, and lung damage caused by inhaling smoke. “That took too long,” he said.
Dr. James Kelly, chief medical scientist at the ‘Invisible Trauma Foundation’ that specializes in military brain injuries, said that the prolonged time required for diagnosing traumatic brain injuries is still uncommon, although this may prevent soldiers from receiving optimal treatment. “It’s disappointing, but not unexpected. In a war environment, this situation is quite common.”
