https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/us/navy-seals-brain-damage-suicide.html U.S.|Pattern of Brain Damage Is Pervasive in Navy SEALs Who Died by Suicide https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/30/us/ navy-seals-brain-damage-suicide.html * Share full article * * * 406 * U.S. * World * Business * Arts * Lifestyle * Opinion * Audio * Games * Cooking * Wirecutter * The Athletic You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Five special operations troops in desert camouflage walk on barren ground toward a pillar of smoke rising in the distance. Pattern of Brain Damage Is Pervasive in Navy SEALs Who Died by Suicide A military lab found distinctive damage from repeated blast exposure in every brain it tested, but Navy SEAL leaders were kept in the dark about the pattern. Longtime Navy SEALs like David Metcalf, shown with teammates in a photo from a personal collection, are exposed repeatedly in training to the blasts from detonating explosives and firing weapons. Skip to contentSkip to site index Pattern of Brain Damage Is Pervasive in Navy SEALs Who Died by Suicide A military lab found distinctive damage from repeated blast exposure in every brain it tested, but Navy SEAL leaders were kept in the dark about the pattern. Longtime Navy SEALs like David Metcalf, shown with teammates in a photo from a personal collection, are exposed repeatedly in training to the blasts from detonating explosives and firing weapons. Credit... Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Listen to this article * 16:12 min Learn more * Share full article * * * 406 Dave PhilippsKenny Holston By Dave Philipps Photographs by Kenny Holston * June 30, 2024Updated 10:38 a.m. ET David Metcalf's last act in life was an attempt to send a message -- that years as a Navy SEAL had left his brain so damaged that he could barely recognize himself. He died by suicide in his garage in North Carolina in 2019, after nearly 20 years in the Navy. But just before he died, he arranged a stack of books about brain injury by his side, and taped a note to the door that read, in part, "Gaps in memory, failing recognition, mood swings, headaches, impulsiveness, fatigue, anxiety, and paranoia were not who I was, but have become who I am. Each is worsening." Then he shot himself in the heart, preserving his brain to be analyzed by a state-of-the-art Defense Department laboratory in Maryland. The lab found an unusual pattern of damage seen only in people exposed repeatedly to blast waves. The vast majority of blast exposure for Navy SEALs comes from firing their own weapons, not from enemy action. The damage pattern suggested that years of training intended to make SEALs exceptional was leaving some barely able to function. ImageA tombstone marks the grave of Lt. David R. Metcalf, with a tree and rows of other tombstones visible beyond. Lieutenant Metcalf died by suicide after nearly 20 years in the Navy. But the message Lieutenant Metcalf sent never got through to the Navy. No one at the lab told the SEAL leadership what the analysis had found, and the leadership never asked. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Site Index Site Information Navigation * (c) 2024 The New York Times Company * NYTCo * Contact Us * Accessibility * Work with us * Advertise * T Brand Studio * Your Ad Choices * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Terms of Sale * Site Map * Canada * International * Help * Subscriptions * Manage Privacy Preferences