Excerpt below:
Dave Philipps, who covers the United States military and veterans for The Times, has spent the past few years focused on the brain injuries suffered by members of elite and specialized units. He’s written about
artillery crews who repeatedly fire high-powered cannons and about
SEALs who do the same with shoulder-fired rockets. He’s written about what happens to the brains of
fighter pilots who catapult from aircraft carriers, and to those of
fast-boat crews who pound across the ocean.
And now he’s turned his attention to
the crews of Coast Guard rescue boats, who work and train in heavy, crashing seas in order to save lives. They’re called surfmen, and their work is among the most challenging and dangerous jobs in the service.
It is work that comes at a cost, Dave reports. They take a beating from the ocean. Many veteran surfmen experience headaches, memory lapses, anxiety attacks, nightmares, mood swings and cognitive problems that can be symptoms of brain injuries.
“A 20-foot wave breaking on you is like being in a car crash,” a surfman named Aaron Harris told him. “If you are out training in big surf, that’s like 20 car accidents a day.” Harris was on the boats for 22 years, before retiring in 2024.
