Dave Philipps’ investigative reporting revealed the pervasive and overlooked brain injuries suffered by U.S. military personnel due to repeated low-level shocks, such as blasts from weapons or high-impact maneuvers. While initially focusing on artillery crew members impacted by firing their own weapons, Philipps expanded his investigation to examine whether these brain injuries were prevalent among other troops with more routine military experiences. He discovered that highly skilled units, including Navy SEALs and TOPGUN pilots, were significantly affected.
Despite a lack of official reports or documents, Philipps conducted extensive on-the-ground interviews with affected troops, veterans, and their families. He navigated the military’s tight controls, insularity, and attempts to obscure the issue by fostering trust within these communities and accessing informal networks. His research documented instances across various military roles, revealing critical insights into how the military had long been blind to the problem due to cultural and institutional obstructions.
The series sparked substantial impact, prompting legislative and policy changes. In December, Congress enacted the Blast Overpressure Safety Act, mandating the military to monitor blast exposure and design safer weapons, anticipating long-term benefits for millions of troops. The Pentagon initiated baseline brain scans for recruits, revealing systemic changes. Additionally, the reporting influenced international military practices, with allied nations reevaluating their training and equipment protocols. Philipps’ work not only highlighted a severe issue but also empowered troop communities, providing a clearer understanding of their injuries and avenues for treatment.
Photo credit Kenny Holston, The New York Times, used here courtesy of The New York Times.
Thanks for Nothing
Kors revealed how military doctors are purposely misdiagnosing soldiers wounded in Iraq as having been ill before joining the Army. His investigations resulted in a congressional hearing, bills in the House and Senate, and an added amendment to the Defense Authorization Act.
Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq
“Embedded” is a collection of deeply emotional and highly personal accounts of covering the Iraq War. Many of the world’s top war correspondents and photographers speak candidly about life on the battlefield. Here are articulate and heartfelt descriptions of fear and firefights, of bullets and banalities, of risking death and meeting deadlines.
With over sixty interviews conducted in Kuwait and Iraq shortly after many returned home, Katovsky and Carlson allowed these journalists to step outside their professional role as journalists and examine the lethal allure of combat reporting.
Oruzgan Raid
National Public Radio exposed a misguided raid on a village in Afghanistan, with evidence so convincing that the U.S. military was forced to release all their prisoners.
The Bridge at No Gun Ri
Revealed, with extensive documentation, the decades-old secret of how American soldiers early in the Korean War killed hundreds of Korean civilians in a massacre at the No Gun Ri Bridge.
Shell Games: The Search for Iraq’s Hidden Weapons
United States intelligence services infiltrated agents and espionage equipment for three years into United Nations arms control teams in Iraq to eavesdrop on the Iraqi military without the knowledge of the U.N. agency that it used to disguise its work, according to U.S. government employees and documents describing the classified operation.
The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955
Drawing on McCormick’s personal papers and years of research, Richard Norton Smith has written the definitive life of the towering figure known as The Colonel.
Broken Trust: The Failed Cleanup at the Massachusetts Military Reservation
A six-day series of articles entitled “Broken Trust” was published by the Cape Cod Times in January 1997. The articles discussed the mismanagement and other problems associated with the MMR cleanup.
Armed for Profit: The Selling of U.S. Weapons
An expose by Charles Sennott detailing the complicity of the US government and corporates in marketing advanced conventional weapons the world to boost profits. This came at the expense of jobs at home and the threat of global instability.
Honduras
Journalists Gary Cohn and Ginger Thompson were recognized for their series “Battalion 316” which told of atrocities committed by a secret Honduran Intelligence Unit that had been trained and equipped by the CIA.
