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A survey of soldiers returning from Iraq found that as many as 1 in 4 had some level of hearing damage. A study in the American Journal of Audiology found that soldiers deployed to Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004 were 50 times more likely to suffer acoustic trauma than those who were not deployed. Such statistics have prompted the military to rethink how it handles hearing cases, and Ft. Carson, Colo., is on the front lines of that change.

Mullen plans to ask his staff whether limiting the number of concussions servicemembers can receive while deployed can reduce the number of troops whose resulting injuries prevent them from returning to duty.

Deployed airmen loses nearly half his weight during his six month deployment.

The Army has dropped Lariam - the drug linked to side effects including suicidal tendencies, anxiety, aggression and paranoia - as its preferred protection against malaria because doctors had inadvertently prescribed it to people who should not take it. Lariam, the brand name for mefloquine, should not be given to anyone with symptoms of a brain injury, depression or anxiety disorder, which describes many troops who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Research from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), http://www.dvbic.org/, indicates as many as 10 to 20 percent of U.S. troops who had combat exposure may have sustained a concussion during the time they were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The Air Force will begin teaching 'battlefield acupuncture' early next year to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan," reports the Baltimore Sun's David Wood. "The initiative marks the first high-level endorsement of acupuncture by the traditionally conservative military medical community, officials said."

The Army has started to screen all soldiers, Army civilian employees and contractors for swine flu before they deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else in U.S. Central Command's region.

In today's Military, deployments are part of life. Pending a deployment in the States or overseas, the family, especially the children, may have anxiety and concerns. Not to worry, there are many ways to help children cope with the absence of a deployed parent.

USS Dubuque will not deploy this June due to a confirmed case of H1N1 virus onboard.

With more and more veterans coming back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson is trying to make sure they get the help they need. Thompson and Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., introduced legislation Thursday in the House that would require every soldier to have face-to-face mental health screening before being deployed on a combat mission, again upon their return and then every six months for the next two years. The bill is companion legislation to a measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

FBI Kansas City: Press Release