Letter to the Honorable Robert Gates, Secretary, United States Department of Defense

Letter

Dear Mr. Secretary,

I was troubled to learn recently that Admiral Mullen and senior Army and Marine Corps leaders are frustrated by the inability to quickly get magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment to Afghanistan.

It is our senior military leaders' judgment that the introduction of MRI machines to Afghanistan could significantly assist military medical professionals treating our troops with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Their judgment is backed by medical evidence. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center indicates that MRIs are often used to diagnose the extent of the head injury and help identify mild, moderate, severe or penetrating TBI. Scientists leading a collaborative TBI study between the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center and Columbia University lauded the use of a functional MRI to help identify traumatic brain injury in "patients [who] have symptoms of injury, but the physical evidence is not obvious."

With over 300 U.S. troops a month incurring concussions in Afghanistan in the last year, we owe it to our brave men and women to provide them the best possible medical care. I strongly support the Chairman's position and am requesting you use your authorities to expedite the procurement and deployment of MRI equipment. If there is anything I can do to assist you in completing this action, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Kirsten E. Gillibrand
United States Senator

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