Following a series of horrific suicides among soldiers and officers of the U.S. Navy's SEAL teams, new information has emerged about the factors driving them to this tragic fate, amidst a rising tide of anger and discontent among many of their peers demanding action to curb these incidents. According to a report by the "New York Times," a laboratory at the U.S. Department of Defense in Maryland found that some sailors exhibited a rare type of brain damage, which is only seen in individuals repeatedly exposed to blast waves.
The report indicates that the overwhelming majority of explosions encountered by U.S. Navy officers stem from their own weapon discharges rather than enemy fire, a consequence of years of intense training aimed at making them an exceptional force, but leaving some barely able to function. The case of David Metcalf is highlighted, whose last act in life was to convey a message indicating that his years as a U.S. Navy officer had left his brain damaged to the point that he could barely recognize himself. Metcalf committed suicide in his garage in North Carolina in 2019, after nearly 20 years in the Navy. Just before his death, he collected writings on brain injuries and affixed a note on the door stating: "Memory gaps, failure to recognize, mood swings, headaches, impulsiveness, fatigue, anxiety, and madness have become part of me, each worsening." He then shot himself in the chest, leaving his brain for analysis by the Department of Defense laboratory.
Notably, this was not the first or last instance, as at least twelve members of the U.S. Navy SEALs have committed suicide in the past decade, either while on active duty or shortly after leaving. An investigation revealed that families had sent eight of their brains to the lab. After thorough analysis, researchers found damage caused by explosions in each case. The U.S. Navy stated they were unaware of the laboratory's findings regarding the SEAL team members who died by suicide.
A Navy officer close to the elite forces expressed shock upon learning of the New York Times findings, stating: "This is the problem. We’re trying to understand this issue, but often the information never reaches us." Information indicates that when a SEAL team leader committed suicide in 2022, other leaders responded by halting all operations for one day to allow the team to grasp the reasons behind the suicide. According to four sources, it was later found that his brain sustained significant damage from explosions, but since commanders were not informed, discussions about the risks associated with exposure to such blasts did not occur.
Evidence suggests that brain damage may be widespread among surviving SEAL members. A Harvard University study surveyed the brains of thirty special operations personnel and found changes in brain structure and dysfunction in all of them. The more the men were exposed to blasts, the more health and quality of life problems they reported.
Admiral Keith Davids, commander of naval special warfare, stated: "We have an ethical obligation to protect the cognitive health and combat effectiveness of our teammates." He added that the Navy is striving to reduce brain injuries "by minimizing exposure to blasts and actively engaging in medical research aimed at enhancing understanding in this critical area." However, in the absence of data regarding suicides, a crucial aspect of the problem was not discussed during briefings.
Reports indicate that the U.S. Department of Defense spends around one billion dollars annually on brain injury research, along with many billions more on training and equipping troops. Jamie Metcalf, the wife of Lieutenant Metcalf, stated she saw her husband’s death as an attempt to draw attention to a widespread issue. She added, "He left a deliberate message because he knew things needed to change." Upon learning that information about his brain had not reached the command of Navy SEAL forces, she sighed and said, "You're kidding."
The military easily acknowledges that brain injuries have become increasingly common in recent years. However, it struggles to understand how many injuries result from shock waves produced by soldiers firing their weapons. There are indications that the damage could arise from a wide range of weapons. Artillery personnel who fired thousands of rounds returned home suffering from hallucinations and psychosis. Mortar teams experienced headaches and memory deterioration. Trusted soldiers suddenly turned violent, killing their neighbors after years of exposure to tank and grenade explosions during combat or training.
Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, head of brain injury rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, explains that blast waves can kill brain cells without causing any immediate noticeable symptoms. He adds, "People's brains often compensate until injuries accumulate to a critical level, at which point the decline begins." In many cases, the doctors treating soldiers provide diagnoses related to psychological disorders that are unrelated to the underlying physical damage, often attributing it to post-traumatic stress disorder due to repeated exposure to blasts.
Typically, the average age of soldiers who commit suicide is 43. Each had been deployed to combat multiple times, yet none were injured by enemy fire. All spent years firing a wide arsenal of powerful weapons, jumping from planes, blowing doors apart, diving underwater, and learning hand-to-hand combat.
Around the age of forty, nearly all began struggling with insomnia, headaches, memory issues, coordination, depression, confusion, and sometimes rage.
In Maryland, the Department of Defense established a laboratory in 2012, named the Department of Defense Brain Tissue Repository, aimed at gathering the brains of deceased veterans to research the signs of the most prevalent injuries from recent wars, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries. However, two years after its opening, the lab faced a fundamental problem; it had no brains for study. The laboratory relied on tissue donations from the families of recently deceased veterans, but few families were aware of its existence, and lab policies prohibited it from contacting families for assistance. By the time most families learned about the laboratory, it was too late.
Dr. Daniel Pearl, the head of the lab, revealed encountering an unprecedented case, where one of the brains displayed borders of scar tissue, resembling a continuous line of damage apparently resulting from repeated exposure to blast waves. The research team began exploring similar damage in the brains of civilians, finding none. They did not observe similar damage in the brains of veterans who experienced a single strong explosion, like a roadside bomb. However, they found it in the brains of veterans exposed to blasts repeatedly.
Many Navy veterans report that several of their former colleagues suffer from depression, madness, and drug addiction—all of which could stem from deteriorating brain function. They noted that desperate calls from friends who committed suicide are common.