A Secret War, Strange New Wounds, and Silence From the Pentagon

This article shares information on the hidden after effects of launching tons munitions all day on the lives of veterans.
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Gift article, no paywall
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/us-army-marines-artillery-isis-pentagon.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8Uw.82e_.MeaqvlDYecDr&smid=url-share

The plan: Put a minimal number of American boots on the ground, and have the troops pound the enemy with relentless artillery fire.

What no one foresaw was the devastating toll it would take on the troops who did the firing.

Many U.S. troops who fired vast numbers of artillery rounds against the Islamic State developed mysterious, life-shattering mental and physical problems. But the military struggled to understand what was wrong.

An investigation by The New York Times found that many of the troops sent to bombard the Islamic State in 2016 and 2017 returned to the United States plagued by nightmares, panic attacks, depression and, in a few cases, hallucinations. Once-reliable Marines turned unpredictable and strange. Some are now homeless. A striking number eventually died by suicide, or tried to.