When American military planners launched a ground offensive against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in 2016, they knew that the American public was weary of long wars in the Middle East, and that the operation would have to make do with very few Americans troops on the ground.
So they relied on a strategy that had not been used much in decades: intensive bombardment by heavy artillery.
Military guidelines said that firing all those high-powered artillery rounds was safe for the gun crews.
But an investigation by The New York Times, including interviews with more than 40 gun-crew veterans and their families, found that the troops came home plagued by insomnia, confusion, memory loss, panic attacks, depression and, in some cases, hallucinations, among other symptoms.
And because the military thought the blast waves were safe, it repeatedly failed to recognize what was happening to the troops.
Organizations:
Islamic, The New York Times
Locations:
Islamic State, Iraq, Syria