Tag Archives: American military

More U.S. troops leave Iraq over potential injures from missile attack

More U.S. troops leave Iraq over potential injures as Trump downplays brain risk
By Alexandra Alper and Idrees Ali

DAVOS, Switzerland/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he did not consider the brain injuries suffered by 11 U.S. service members in Iran’s recent attack on a base in Iraq to be serious, as the American military moved more troops out of the region for potential injuries.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said that more troops had been flown out of Iraq to Germany for medical evaluations following Iran’s Jan. 8 missile attack on the base where U.S. forces were stationed after announcing the 11 injuries last week.

Further injuries may be identified in the future, it added, without giving further details.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about a dozen troops were being transported to Germany.

Trump and other top officials initially said Iran’s attack had not killed or injured any U.S. service members before the Pentagon reversed course on Thursday, saying 11 U.S. troops had been treated for concussion symptoms after the attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.

On Wednesday, Trump declined to explain the discrepancy.

“I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report it is not very serious,” Trump told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland.

Asked whether he considered traumatic brain injury to be serious, Trump said: “They told me about it numerous days later. You’d have to ask the Department of Defense.”

Pentagon officials have said there had been no effort to minimize or delay information on concussive injuries, but its handling of the injuries following Tehran’s attack has renewed questions over the U.S. military’s policy regarding how it handles suspected brain injuries.

While the U.S. military has to immediately report incidents threatening life, limb or eyesight, it does not have an urgent requirement to do so with suspected traumatic brain injury, or TBI, which can take time to manifest and diagnose.

“I don’t consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries I have seen,” Trump said. “I’ve seen people with no legs and no arms.”

Various health and medial groups for years have been trying to raise awareness about the seriousness of brain injuries, including concussions.

Such injury can cause symptoms such as memory problems, headaches, and sensitivity to light. Mood changes and possible links to mental illness are also concerns.

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper in Davos and Idrees Ali in Washington; writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

China, U.S. look past tensions with joint relief drill

Liu Xiaowu (C), army commander of the Chinese southern military region, and General Robert Brown (2nd L), commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, attend a session as the Chinese and U.S. armed forces hold joint humanitarian relief drills in Kunming, Yunnan province, China

By Ben Blanchard

KUNMING, China, Nov 18 (Reuters) – China and the United States wrapped up a three day humanitarian relief military drill on Friday, looking past simmering tensions over the disputed
South China Sea and the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea.

The exercises, held in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, come a month after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, prompting fury in Beijing which called the moved illegal and provocative.

That patrol, the latest by Washington to challenge Chinese claims in the strategic waterway, capped a tense year for military-to-military ties between the world’s two largest economies, which are also at odds over the U.S. decision to base Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system battery system in South Korea to defend against North Korea.

China, neighboring North Korea, worries the system’s radar will be able to track its own military capabilities.

New uncertainty looms with the shock election of Donald Trump as U.S. president earlier this month, a man who lambasted China on the campaign trail and has suggested Japan and South Korea be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

But it was all smiles and friendship as Chinese and U.S. soldiers simulated digging out bodies from an earthquake-destroyed building and rescuing people from an overturned boat in a reservoir.

Liu Xiaowu, army commander of the Chinese southern military region, and General Robert Brown, commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, chatted amiably as they oversaw the last day of
exercises.

“Very smart, very good,” Brown said, as Chinese officers explained how they were using new technology, including drones, in the drill.

Jeremy Reynolds, a U.S. army captain based in Hawaii, told Reuters the exercise was a unique opportunity for the two to work together.

“The execution of the exchange went very well between the Chinese and the American forces. We were able to communicate very well through interpreters. There were no major issues. The
Chinese did a very good job planning their portions of the exercise and it led to very smooth operations in a very good overall product,” he said, standing on a pontoon bridge.

“These operations do help to create a mutual understanding between our two militaries.”

This is the fourth time China and the United States have conducted such drills since they began in 2013, as the two try to set aside mutual suspicion from the bottom up, rather than just relying on contacts at a more senior level.

The exercise involved 134 military personnel from China and 89 from the United States, using helicopters, pontoon bridges and engineering equipment.

They also conducted tabletop exercises focusing on sharing information and joint decision-making, field maneuvers focusing on evacuation of earthquake victims and search and rescue.

“We had very happy cooperation with the United States. I was really happy,” said Chinese army doctor Zhao Yao.

“This was the first time I’d met the U.S. military. The exchange with them has really helped my English.”

(Editing by Nick Macfie)