Army launches cognitive screening to track new soldiers’ brain health

The Army launched its new baseline cognitive testing program for recruits this summer in an effort to proactively monitor soldiers’ brain health, officials confirmed to Military Times.

Fort Moore, Georgia, kicked off the assessments this month to measure incoming troops’ brain function, following Fort Sill, Oklahoma, which started the program in June, according to Army Col. Jama VanHorne-Sealy with the Army Medical Command. Testing at two other basic training locations, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, is scheduled to start by the end of September, she told Military Times.

Recruits at Fort Moore will complete the cognitive monitoring assessment during training in-processing, which takes place the first seven to 10 days on post, according to installation spokesperson Jennifer Gunn.

Meanwhile, more than 5,600 Army ROTC cadets took the baseline brain health test in June during annual summer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, VanHorne-Sealy said, and in November, assessments will begin for cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

All services are scheduled to roll out the testing at all entry training locations by the end of 2024, according to the Army.

The move allows for the monitoring of service members’ cognitive data earlier in their careers, allowing health care officials to better track significant changes, including potential brain injuries.

Dr. Steven Porter, chief of neurocognitive assessment with the Army Surgeon General’s office, emphasized the value of shifting away from a long-standing cognitive assessment program that began in 2007, which followed a predeployment and injury-centric model, to a more comprehensive, proactive approach that regularly evaluates brain health.

“Without ongoing testing, changes to a soldier’s thought processes may not be evident until an event that could put both the service member or their unit in jeopardy,” he said in a statement.

Exams are not used to disqualify anyone from service, VanHorne-Sealy said, adding that the 25- to 35-minute assessment evaluates ten areas of cognitive functioning and can be administered in an individual or group setting.

The Army discussed tracking new soldiers’ brain health earlier this year in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in October 2023 by an Army reservist, Army Times previously reported. That soldier’s brain showed evidence in an autopsy of traumatic brain injury, which is linked to concussions and blast exposure.

In August, Defense Department leaders revealed a series of new steps designed to protect troops from “blast overpressure” injuries related to weapons use, Military Times previously reported.

In an Aug. 8 department memo, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks called for all new recruits to be screened for signs of brain injury by the end of the year, and all currently serving reservists and active-duty personnel to be screened by the end of fiscal 2025.

“Blast overpressure is one of many factors that can negatively affect warfighter brain health,” she shared in a statement.

The Army’s intent for soldiers in career fields with the greatest potential for blast overpressure exposure is to have them get tested annually; meanwhile, personnel who have some chance of exposure will be assessed biannually and those with the least potential will be assessed every three years, VanHorne-Sealy said.

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At an annual summit in July, experts gathered to review the latest DOD and service research and approaches for protecting service members exposed to blast overpressure.

“I think the key thing is, is that we need to continue to synchronize across DOD,” VanHorne-Sealy said in a statement following the event. “There’s so much good work that’s already going on out there that we can learn from each other, take from each other, and we can create a better program holistically.