Every war or major military conflict produces a characteristic injury or wound that eventually becomes that conflict's "signature wound". World War Two was associated with an increase in radiation-induced cancer from atomic bombs while the Vietnam war led to a better understanding and increase in occurrence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the physical effects of exposure to Agent Orange.

According to a report in The Scotsman, the war in Iraq will be no different in producing a "signature wound" only this time the wound is in the brains of those affected. Medical experts are witnessing an emerging and alarming increase in a disorder known as TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury. In other words, the Iraq war could produce a generation of brain-damaged ex-soldiers.

Soldiers are far better equipped in the 21st century to protect their lives from injuries caused by bullets and bombs but in so doing, the very soldiers who are surviving extreme bomb blasts are now displaying symptoms of brain damage caused by the brain-shaking event that occurs at the time of a nearby blast.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders,symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. Approximately half of severely head-injured patients will need surgery to remove or repair ruptured blood vessels or bruised brain tissue. Disabilities resulting from a TBI depend upon the injury's severity, location, and the age and general health of the individual.

Some common disabilities include problems with thinking, memory, and reasoning, sensory processing (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), expression and understanding, depression, anxiety, personality changes, aggression, acting out, and social inappropriateness. More serious head injuries may result in stupor,coma and vegetative states.

One Washington medical centre is reporting that a staggering 83% of wounded Marines and sailors were suffering from temporary or permanent brain damage.

The emergence of this latest "signature wound" comes just one month after President Bush announced in his 2006 budget that he would eliminate a $9 million program for the treatment of people with Traumatic Brain Injury.