How a Teenager Found Undiagnosed Brain Injuries in the Military

From the New York Times, I'm Zolan Ko. Young's [music] filling in as host. This. is the daily. [music]. Over the past decade, the US military. experienced [music] a wakeup call. Research showed that traumatic brain. injuries were not just caused by. bombings and [music] explosions, but. also by the shock waves troops feel from. their [music] own weapons like artillery.

and shoulder fired rockets. [music] Now, new reporting shows that. similarly devastating impacts can come. from another unexpected place, [music]. the ocean. Today, my colleague Dave Phillips on a. [music] significant blind spot in the. Coast Guard and the teenager who helped. expose how widespread the danger [music]. really is. It's Tuesday, September 1st.

[music]. Dave Phillips, you have been covering. the military for how long? >> Probably like 20 years. And I think it's. fair to say that you have expanded our. understanding of specifically brain. injuries in the military and how they. can impact a wide range of jobs. But. recently your reporting took you to a. branch of the military that I think most.

of us would not associate with head. trauma and that's the Coast Guard. How. did you end up there? >> Yeah, basically it started in Iraq. because brain injuries were a huge part. of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IEDs going off, people getting really. shaken up but not having a scratch on. them. And so we started to talk about. these invisible injuries. And of course, I wrote about that years ago. But it was. only recently that I started to figure. out that you could get those injuries. not from some big blast that comes from.

the enemy, but from multiple small. blasts that come from firing your own. weapon. So people that work on artillery. cannons or mortars or fire shoulder. fired rockets, these people are. repeatedly getting a shock wave that. whips through their brain tissue and. over time those repeated shocks to the. brain can lead to a really lasting and. disruptive issue. >> Right. So you're describing heavy. weapons, working with explosives, you're. describing combat, and I don't usually.

associate all of those things with the. Coast Guard. So I guess were you. surprised that your journey brought you. here to the Coast Guard? >> Yeah, because most people when they. think about the Coast Guard, they think. like EMS for the sea, you know, like. search and rescue, port safety, drug. interdiction. And while they do have. some weapons training, that's not what. we really associate them with. So. honestly, the Coast Guard wasn't even on. my radar for these types of injuries. until I got a call from a reader who.

said, "Hey, I think the same thing. happened to my husband, and he recently. died.". >> Wow. >> She described symptoms of a boat driver. in the Coast Guard that were exactly. like the symptoms that I was seeing in. these other folks. So I said, "Hey, if if this is happening. to your husband and to other people who. are doing the same job, help me find. those people who are being exposed and. are maybe also suffering." And she knew. a lot of them. And she quickly connected.

me with a woman named Jenna Bonner. >> Okay. So tell me about Jenna. >> So you guys ready to start? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Jenna Bonner is in her 40s. She's got. four kids and she moved to a beautiful. little spot in the mountains of North. Carolina a number of years ago with her. husband Brett Bonner. >> After that, >> what was your first impression of him? >> Um, he was very fit. >> Uh-huh. >> Like total life of the party. Um, his. friends used to call him big dumb. animal.

[laughter]. >> He was like golden retriever. Uh. >> Jenna, she had met this guy when she was. in college. And he was this young, big, muscly, you know, as she describes him, hot uh guy who was a friend of her. brothers. And he pretty instantly fell. in love with her. In fact, [music] after. they only meet each other a couple. times, >> he told my parents, he's like, "Hold on, I got to go walk my future wife out to. her car.". >> Are you serious? in front of I mean that. level of confidence. >> in front of the. >> he starts introducing her to other.

people as his future [music] wife. >> Okay, not wasting time here. >> No, it's just like very fun. [music]. >> Yeah, >> I I joke that I married him cuz he made. me laugh. >> And they got married pretty quickly. [music]. He was in the Coast Guard and he wanted. to become one of their elite rescue boat. drivers, which is called a surfman. >> Dave, this may just be me, but what's a. surfman? Can you just explain that a.

little bit more? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. When a boat is out in. distress in a storm, stuck in big waves, someone has to go out there and rescue. them. And that person who's driving that. boat is the surfman. And these boats are. are built to withstand anything. They. can get knocked over by a 25 foot wave. and then write themselves like a rubber. ducky. And so you can imagine that. driving one of those in stormy seas in. surf that's higher than a building, that. takes a great deal of skill. So when. he's starting his career, they move to.

the west coast because that's where all. the really rough surf is along the. Pacific. And so that's where all the. surfmen train. And he's really excited. He gets stationed at the Coast Guard. station that's right under the Golden. Gate Bridge by San Francisco and he and. Jenna get established there. >> He was just not the guy who was going to. sit at a desk and he loved being on the. boat. He loved being underway. >> Mhm. >> He was always the guy who would like. helping people always get underway. >> He reaches his goal and he becomes a.

surfman. He joins this elite club. But. >> when he gets there, he's doing these. daily search and rescue missions, but a. lot of it's not really rescue. It's. recovering bodies. >> from people who had jumped off the. bridge. >> Later he said, "I joined the Coast Guard. to save lives. like not this." And he re like that. empathetic side of him really struggled. with the jumpers. >> Sure. >> Just like what if I had like spotted.

them faster? What if I cuz he. >> and the job really started to weigh on. him cuz he's a lifesaver. He got into. this work to save people. >> and he had plenty who weren't all the. way dead and were begging them to save. them. >> and they weren't able to save them. >> Yeah. And in a lot of these cases, these. people couldn't be saved once they. jumped to their deaths. And and even. worse, there were people who were right. on the edge and his crew would have to. perform all sorts of life-saving and CPR. actions on them. Even though it was.

pretty clear they weren't going to make. it. >> Oh my goodness. I'd imagine that that. takes a toll. >> Yeah. Jenna started to notice changes in. him. She noticed that he was having. trouble sleeping, that his mood is. really changing. And it wasn't long. before he was diagnosed by the Coast. Guard with PTSD. >> PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. And how does he respond to that? >> Well, I mean, he takes it seriously. He. starts taking an anti-depressant. He. goes to counseling. Ultimately though, he goes back to work. He's back on the.

boats and then he is reassigned up to. Washington at the mouth of the Columbia. River to the surf school where he is. actually teaching other surfmen how to. do this kind of work. >> Okay. So, that sounds maybe like a. really positive change. He's now. teaching which I imagine would be easier. on the mental. It takes less of a toll. No. >> Right. The stress of all these rescue. calls, of having to pull bodies out of. the ocean, that's gone, right? But the.

physical punishment of this new job is. way worse. Because if you're just a. regular surfman at a regular surf. station, you're only out in big pounding. waves once in a while. Pretty rarely. But if you're at the surf school, you're. out there teaching other people all day, every day. And you're not just in this. big crashing surf, you're in it with. student drivers. >> And so if Brett's driving the boat, it's. a much smoother ride. You're on. >> He knows how to time it. He has the.

finesse. He has years of experience. >> Yes. So he would say it's so much worse. because. like you're getting slammed around. unnecessarily. >> And so on top of it, >> what would have been a rough ride anyway. becomes even rougher. >> Right. Okay. This is making sense. I'm. thinking about getting into a car with a. 16-year-old who's trying to get their. driver's permit, but in that situation, I'm not in the ocean and I don't have to. deal with 12 to 15 foot dangerous waves. coming at me.

>> Yeah, exactly. Even when this type of. training goes right, it's really, really. rough. And when you're dealing with. students and with stormy seas, often. times things go wrong. And one day, that's exactly what happened to Brett. out on the water. >> He said it was a rogue wave, like the. timing of it. >> A student was driving. Brett was. directing him through these big crashing. waves off the the Pacific coast. >> So, he's telling the guy like full. throttle like push, you know, >> and one just knocked the boat completely.

over. So, that now they're upside down. in this roing surf. He's getting whipped. all around. And in the meantime, he. said, "While you're upside down," he. said, "It's like hitting a brick wall. cuz the current is so strong underneath. that you're just like slammed.". >> Uhhuh. He's counting the seconds in the. darkness waiting to come up and come up. and it's not happening. >> And he's like, I was out of air. I. thought like, well, this is it. My life. flashed before my eyes. Like, this is. the end cuz it's not rewriting. And then.

it finally pops back up. And um when it. comes back up, he's slammed on the. bottom of the boat. [music]. >> And fortunately, the boat works as it's. designed to. And eventually they all pop. up. >> It sounds like he he could have died. >> Yeah. [music] But still, he's okay. And. after several weeks, he goes right back. to work teaching other people in Big. Crash in the Surf. and all of the symptoms that he was.

experiencing in San Francisco start to. get worse. >> He came home with headaches all the time. from work. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Light sensitivity, um, short fuse. or just. >> he's getting headaches. He's really. having trouble sleeping. The nightmares. are getting worse. His mood is really. changing. >> He put holes in the wall. Um, he. >> meaning like punched a hole in the wall. >> Punched holes in the wall. Yes. And like. he went from fun dad. >> to like he expected total silence in the. car. He'd be like, "You're you're you're.

yelling like no like no very noise. sensitive.". >> And honestly, I think she's starting to. wonder what's going on. >> And then something really scary happens. [music]. They're on like a family trip. >> We stopped in Gley to see his dad for a. little bit and we stop at Camper World. and well, he's like, "I don't feel well. I feel the zaps. I feel like. >> like something is happening in my brain.

and I'm not okay. >> And I should say around this period of. time, [music]. >> he's been talking to his wife, Jenna, about having noticeable zaps in his. [music] brain. >> Zaps? What do you mean? >> That's how he describes it. >> Zaps. He'd say, "I have these zaps in my. head." Like [music] like short circuits. >> Interesting. He says he can feel like. little glitches. Like that's what they. feel like, but they don't know the. cause. And while he's sitting there in. [music] the parking lot, Brett starts to. get zaps really bad and he tries to call.

Jenna, ask her [music] for help. >> I get I still have this voicemail. >> He leaves her a voicemail, which she. still has on her phone. >> I need help. I need help. >> He just said, "I need your help. >> I need help. I need help bad.". >> Uhhuh. That noise at the end, is that. him? >> Yes, that's him. He lost control of his. speech. >> He starts to flop around and and hit. against the [music] dashboard. and his. oldest daughter Kaylee is watching from. the back seat and she just does not. understand what's going on.

>> He's kind of just like twitching back. and forth and then his phone like drops. on the floor so I couldn't grab his. phone and she's just kind of there. watching helpless until eventually her. mom comes out of the store and and finds. him slumped over in the front seat still. seizing. >> And this [music] is just like a really. scary wakeup call for them. This sounds terrifying. This for the.

entire family. >> Yeah. Well, not only terrifying in the. moment where you're watching your dad or. your husband completely lose control, but terrifying for the family as a whole. in the long term because maybe this is. the new reality. And so they're really. scared and they want to know what's. going on. >> What do the doctors think happened? >> Yeah. Well, I mean, the Coast Guard. sends him to civilian doctors that would. do a full workup. And the big thing that. they want to establish, the most. important thing is, does this surfman.

have epilepsy? Because if he does, he. can't drive the boats anymore. >> But if this is just a one-time thing, he. can go back to work. And so, that's. their main focus. But when they go to a. neurologist and get his brain imaged, she notices something else. She says, "You've had a lot of concussions, haven't you?" And he kind of looks at. her surprised like, "No.". >> He's like, "One? No, I haven't had a. lot. One.". >> She's like, "No, you have." And she. shows him a image of his own brain and. shows him these blotches and gray areas.

>> Something about his gray matter. It's. like. >> that she says show concussions. repeatedly over time. >> Like a lot of concussions. And we were. like, "Well, that's weird." Cuz he's. like, "I've only ever had one in peewee. football." That's. >> Oh, really? It wasn't even. >> And at the time he doesn't think much of. it. He's like, "Huh?" Nope. Because what. else she says is there's no evidence of. epilepsy which means you can go back to. work. So the Bonner family sees this as. really good news and all that stuff. about the brain damage. I think at the.

time the family said maybe that was. caused by that really violent boat. rollover. >> and you're past that. >> They hear that and they may think okay. it's it's a one-off. It's due to that to. that freak accident and we can continue. your passion here. you can continue the. work that you love, >> right? So, he can heal and he can move. on with his career and he does. And. eventually in 2022, after 21 years of. surf boat work, he retires and so they.

moved to the mountains of North. Carolina. >> From the time we met here, he loved it. here. >> Yeah. >> This was the dream. >> My parents moved here after they retired. because we were going to move here. >> Yeah. and they set up in in like one of. the most beautiful and low stress places. that they can and and she thinks here's. the place where where he can recover. >> It's like we have 60 acres here. We're. going to build our dream house. >> And he was retiring and I missed. working. >> Yeah. >> So I was like I'll go to work. You just.

>> live the dream. Retire. >> Yeah. But in fact he just continues to. struggle. >> How so? Well, he's left this stressful. life behind and yet all of the symptoms. of being stressed are getting worse. He's really struggling to control his. moods, sometimes depressed. He's flying. into rages. He's drinking to cope. >> He's like, "You're you're trying to turn. the kids against me.". >> Like, no, I'm actually making so many. excuses and trying to explain like he's.

doing his best. We're going to just love. him through this and like I'm trying to. hold everything together. >> Yeah. And all of these things are gradually. growing worse. >> You know, in the Coast Guard, he was. just a beloved leader, joking guy, always there for anyone. As a dad, he. was always very involved. He cheered at. all his kids' soccer games. His big. thing was that he loved to make. breakfast in the morning for everyone. But as time went on, that Brett was less.

and less present. And the guy that would. replace him was just suspicious, angry. He had headaches all the time. A very. hard person to deal with who was nothing. like the guy that his family knew. >> But they do start to get ideas about why. this is happening. Brett is actively. trying to get better at this point. He's. doing things like therapy. He's stopped. drinking. He's changed his diet. He's. seeing different doctors. and he goes to. the VA hospital for a routine assessment.

and ends up getting referred to a. neurologist who does these cognitive. tests on him. >> And so she starts and she gives him like. these words, five words to memorize. >> Part of that is brain function testing. It's pretty simple stuff. Remember five. things and repeat them back. >> And I get four out of five in my head. He gets two. I think one or two. Then. she asks him to count like start at 100. and count backwards by seven. >> and he does really really badly on it.

>> And then he starts and. >> as he's talking to the doctor he says. like yeah like my memory is terrible. >> He's like yeah I don't remember like. most of my kids childhood. I don't. remember like all these things. And. >> and that for them is this really. surprising like wakeup call that maybe. this isn't just PTSD. It wasn't until. then that I thought, "Oh, you're. listening. You're not remembering.". Like, all these pieces start to come up.

and I'm like, "Oh, this tracks." Like, that's why you can't. pick up prescriptions cuz you can't. remember the kid's birthdays. >> And then, >> and it's here at this appointment when. he gets diagnosed with traumatic brain. injury. >> And do the doctors have a theory at this. time of how exactly his brain could have. been injured in this way? No, honestly, I don't think they're looking for some. larger cause, right? They're looking to. just try and diagnose the patient that's. in front of them. So, they say, "Hey,

you probably have a brain injury here, and maybe it's not surprising. considering this really active career. of, you know, being out in giant waves. Maybe you hit your head. Maybe there was. a boat accident.". >> But even with the diagnosis, no one really tells him or his wife what. to expect from a brain injury or how to. handle it. And everything that Brett is. dealing with grows worse until it comes. to a head on a winter morning in 2025. >> Morning is fine. Church is great until.

I'm delayed at church. And then we. grocery shop and he's just getting. grumpier and grumpier. And then the. stuff by the door. >> It's a Sunday. >> The family goes to church and after. church things get worse. He's getting. mad over little arguments that don't. matter. And so all afternoon things are. sort of building and around dinner he. gets mad at his kids for leaving the. house a mess. And his response to that. is is he's going to take these boxes of.

Coast Guard files. >> And he's like, "This needs to go." And I. was like, "No, I want it in the it goes. in the boys' room.". >> And just set it on fire in the living. room fireplace. I'm using. >> Jen is looking at this from the kitchen, seeing her husband just, you know, ranting and angry and this fire and and. black smoke and it's just like, I don't. know what to do. >> She feels helpless. >> So scary. He's going to I literally. actually think he might burn the house. down, so I should just take them. We. should just [music] go. >> Yeah. >> The only thing she can do, she feels, is. get the kids out of the house. >> He's bent over in front of the fire and.

was like, "We're going to I'm going to. go get dinner. We'll be back.". I might have said like, "Please don't. burn the house down or something." Like. just. >> Mhm. >> I kind of was just like. >> She packs up her four kids and she. drives them to the nearest town where. they go to Sonic, get them some dinner. and and maybe by the time they get back. things will cool off. >> Well, while they're there, Brett calls. the family on on FaceTime. >> So, I answer and he's like, "Don't bring. the kids back tonight. [music] Don't.

bring the kids home tonight." And I was. like, "What? Why? We're just we're. getting food and then we're coming home. Like what are what is going on? And he. hangs up. >> and he says, "Don't bring the kids. home.". >> And he just hangs up. So they call him. back. >> and I see his face. It's like just dark. >> It's dark. It's being lit by the screen. >> Yeah. Only see his face. And um. >> and he's got this really strange vacant. look. And he he keeps telling them to. turn their camera off on FaceTime. And.

they're confused because they have. turned their camera off, but they can. still see him. And. >> um I'm like, "Hey, what's going on? Like, what what's h what what what's. going on, bro?" And I'm like, "What do. you mean?" I'm I'm coming back like. again, I'm trying to like talk. rationally like, but I'm kind of frantic. inside cuz I'm like, "What is. happening?". >> Mhm. They're all sitting in the car. watching this as he keeps telling them. to turn the camera off. And then. suddenly the [music] head of a pistol. comes into the frame.

>> Literally in a split second, you see the. gun and he pulls a trigger. >> and we all hear it. >> There's a pop and a flash and then the. screen goes dark as the laptop that he's. holding just tumbles into the darkness. The whole family's just watched this. happen and there's this. silence. just everybody's there is. stunned. and one of the kids says, [music]. "Did dad just drop the laptop?". >> Oh no. >> And Jenna has this moment where she's.

put together what happened and she says, "No, I think daddy shot himself.". >> That's awful. >> Suddenly he's gone with no note, [music]. with no explanation. And it really sent the whole family into. this questioning what the hell happened. here.

We'll be right back. Dave, so what does Brett Bonner's family. do with this question of what happened. to him? >> Yeah, man. Suicide is so tough and it. raises so many questions. There's. questions of blame. There's questions of. what did we miss? What could we have. done? There's so many questions about. what do you say about this legacy of.

this man who worked as a lifesaver for. more than 20 years. The family was so. uncertain that when they buried him, they buried him with nothing on his. headstone because they weren't sure what. to say about him yet. >> So Brett's oldest daughter, Kaye, she. was going into her senior year of high. school and she started thinking about. this. What were the questions you had. when your dad died? Like I know it's. like super complex, but in the months. afterwards, what were the things you.

were kept turning over in your mind? um kind of just how it escalated so. quickly. Um and. how one thing kind of led to another. because I mean I kind of got a front row. seat to all of it cuz I was born right. before he made surf. And. >> there were a lot of whatifs. >> in her mind and one of them was sort of. like this. >> [snorts]. >> what if all those years in the boats.

left him with some other brain injury? And she started to look around on the. web for information about that and she. didn't find any. Definitely not from the. Coast Guard. And so she said, "Okay, if. I can't find any information from. official sources, I'll have to go out. and and gather it myself." and she. turned to the one source that she. thought might actually have these. answers and that was other people who. did the same surfman job as her dad.

>> Wow. So, she has encountered this void. of research into this and she's going to. fill it. Tell us how she does that. >> So, her senior year she's actually. taking like a research class and she. decides that her research project is. going to be what happened to her dad. And so she comes up with this. questionnaire of about three dozen. questions all about their their brain. health and sends it out. >> So I try to like make it short because I. know that their attention span is really.

short cuz my dad's was. >> and to be clear this is an academically. rigorous process. It's an advanced. placement class. So her methods and. questions they have to be vetted and. approved before she sends them out to. these guys. >> Um how many people did you get to. survey? Uh, only 77. And I. >> That's a lot. >> Well, I was hoping more, but. >> this is a small population. They're hard. to find. >> Yeah, I was like individually. >> And she gets 77 responses, both retired.

and active duty surfmen, which is a. pretty astounding number because this is. a small and very insular group of. people. It's way more responses than I. would have gotten as, you know, just a. reporter showing up trying to talk to. these people. And I was just so amazed. because here's this person who because. what she'd been through was almost like. a reporting partner for me. >> And one big reason that she got this.

many responses and that's that her dad's. Brett Bonner. A lot of these people had. worked with him and knew him or at least. they knew the story of what happened to. him and they really felt a duty to help. his family out in any way they could. >> Right. So, she's covering ground that's. completely new and she has no idea what. she's going to find. >> And I looked at symptoms of TBI and I. put that in there because I knew a lot. of them wouldn't have diagnosed TBI. So, it's like we can connect that maybe they.

have a possible TBI and we can. >> and her driving question is how many. surfmen have traumatic brain injury or. symptoms that look like a brain injury. and how is that impacting their lives? And so like people said they had head. injuries, but like I think a lot of them. dismissed injuries that normal people. would be like, "Oh, that's an injury.". And they'd be like, "Oh, that was just a. scratch." Or something like that. >> It sounds like from talking to you guys. that if if we'd asked your dad, "Have. you ever had a head injury?" He might.

have said, "No.". >> He would have said only in peewee. football. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And when the questionnaires start coming. back in, the answers are are pretty. astounding. She finds an overwhelming. majority of these [music] career surfmen. who spent years and years in rough seas. Very few of them had ever been diagnosed. by the Coast Guard with a head injury. [music]. >> Very few of them believed they had a. head injury, but almost all of them had.

the symptoms of a brain injury. They. were having the memory problems, the. cognitive problems, the sleep problems, the mood problems. All of the things. that she was seeing in her dad, these. guys were reporting to her. [music]. And at the very end of her survey, she. just left a blank spot where people. could make any comment that they wanted. And I just want to read you a couple. This [music] one from a career surfman. in his mid-50s. He said, "My brain has.

started to fail [music] me. I feel it. I. see it. It's difficult to do things that. used to come natural to me. [music] And. then another guy in his mid-40s, and. remember these are people who were the. highest performing rescuers. He wrote, "It's been a struggle for me to keep my. life together.". These service members are describing in. basically no uncertain terms brain. trauma. But no one had asked them about. it. No one knew to ask them. >> Yeah. But it's hard because it also.

looks like a lot of other things. You. know, if you're depressed and have. nightmares and can't sleep and you've. had a high stress job for years, it's. very easy for people to say it's. something else than brain injury. And I. think over and over again, even with the. guys themselves, that's what they did. No one ever questioned that this might. be a physical injury from just doing the. job. So basically through Kayle's. research and your subsequent reporting, you guys have found that the brain. injuries that we associate with the. stories that you were previously.

reporting on, right, the weapons, the. other parts of the military, that that's. also impacting the Coast Guard. It may. even be widespread. But I guess Dave, I'm still curious how exactly folks like. Brett were sustaining such severe brain. trauma. these huge waves are hitting. these boats. But walk me through how. exactly that results in the brain. injuries we've been describing. >> Yeah, that's what I wanted to figure. out, too, because like I don't know, I've been in boats on rough seas. I've. been in big waves and I've gotten.

knocked around for sure, but it didn't. seem like something that intense, right? >> And so I went back and saw if there was. any other research on these boats and. the kinds of forces that they deliver. And it turned out that there is. For a. number of years, researchers in Europe. have been looking at this problem. because crews on these types of boats. get a lot of injuries to their knees, to. their necks, to their backs, just from. the rough ride, the repeated going up. into the wave and slamming down into the.

backside. And even though they weren't. looking for, you know, problems with. brain injury, they found something. really surprising that would explain. this. And that is in a nutshell that a. body standing on a boat acts a lot like. a whip that gets cracked. The force at. one end where the feet are planted on on. the deck is not that much. But as that. wave ripples up through the legs, through the back and finally quickly.

jerks the neck, the force is many times. what it was. So you might go through a. wave that's hitting it only maybe six. times the force of gravity, but by the. time the neck jerks in the impact when. you slam into the trough, it could be. the force of a car crash. And so. something that from the outside seems. tame. The physics of it at like a neuron. level is extremely violent. And if you. apply that whip crack for a career, you.

know, let's say 10,000 wave hits, you. start to understand how profoundly. damaging this could be. >> So, what can the Coast Guard actually do. about it? What would prevention here. actually look like? I tell you, one of. the most surprising things that happened. in all of this reporting was that when I. picked up the phone and called the Coast. Guard and and warned them that I was. going to do this story, that I was going. to say, "Hey, your elite surfmen rescue. crews are getting brain injuries just. from doing their job." The response I.

got from the person who picked up the. phone was, "Good. I'm glad you're doing. these stories." I was on boats like that. for years, and man, we always wondered. about this. We never had any answers. So. there's there is a hunger to understand. and solve this problem which is the best. place you can start right because. there's a lot of things that potentially. you could do. You could change the. design of boats. You could change the. design of training. You could change the. shape of a career so that you never put. one person in this rough surf for 20.

years. There's lots of options, but it. all starts from the same place. >> Yeah. I mean it's it's worth noting this. is not the way the government usually. responds to an investigation. It's. obviously great to hear that the Coast. Guard is responding to your reporting. positively, but I do wonder if there's. reason to think that they are actually. going to follow through with action. here. I mean, isn't there a world where. they shouldn't have been relying on a. motivated teenager in the first place to. basically do their work for them?

>> Yeah, that's really frustrating, isn't. it? And I got to tell you, it's not. unique to the Coast Guard. Listen, the. Department of Defense has spent, and I'm. not exaggerating here, billions of. dollars on brain injury, studying it, understanding it, preventing it, and in. every single case across every branch, they missed this kind of injury, the. injury that comes from repeatedly doing. a job that everyone has said is safe. So, yeah, it's problem that they miss. even when they're trying to find it.

It's a problem that they've ignored. because it means fundamentally changing. how you do things. But it's something. that is now out in the open. And if it's. out in the open because a teenager. pointed it out, then good for her. Dave, I want to just take a step back. here. You've been covering brain. injuries in the military for so long, and it seems like the scope of your. reporting, it just keeps on widening. It. keeps getting broader. And and I do find. that pretty concerning. And I wonder how. your understanding of brain injuries has.

now shifted. >> Yeah. I mean, I first got into this. because of of huge weapons that were. hurting people. But the more I learned, the more I realized you don't have to be. around a big blast or even a small blast. to get injured. You don't even have to. hit your head. I mean, think about the. surfmen who are out there in the waves. their head's not coming in contact with. anything and yet they end up with with a. profound injury. [music].

And I've really come to appreciate just. how amazingly complex and [music]. delicate the brain is. I mean, we're. talking about an organ with 100 billion. connections, which we barely understand. at all. And I've started to wonder what. other everyday things have this kind of. impact and are changing our brains. So I think we really need to go forward. with our eyes open and keep asking, you. know, how is modern life affecting a.

brain that really hasn't changed since. the time we lived in caves? >> Well, thank you so much for your. reporting, Dave. [music]. >> Thank you. What are the big takeaways for you going. through [music] this process? >> I guess. I was shocked that so many people.

responded. I was just glad that people. were willing to. cuz I mean it was it was hard cuz you're. reading about this and it's bringing up. stuff and you're like, "Oh, wow. That. makes so much sense. And [music]. for the longest time, I was just annoyed. at my dad for like being mad all the. time, but he was really just struggling. >> It kind of maybe reframes how you. understand everything that happened. >> Mhm. It's really helpful to understand.

like get an image of what he was really. going [music] through inside and that he. wouldn't really tell us. >> He didn't know. >> Yeah, he didn't know. [music]. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know. Today, on Monday, [music]. a divided Supreme Court allowed. construction on President Trump's luxury.

White House ballroom to [music]. continue. The decision marked a. significant win for Trump, who has made. completing the $400 million ballroom a. major priority. In [music] a 5 to4 ruling, the court's. majority found that the preservationists. who challenged the ballroom [music]. construction did not have the legal. grounds to bring their lawsuit. Chief. Justice [music] John Roberts joined the. court's three liberal justices in. dissenting the ruling with Roberts. writing that the construction [music].

was quote likely unlawful. and the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. submitted [music] his resignation to. President Trump following months of. building tension with Defense Secretary. Pete Hegseath over promotions of service. members. [music]. Last fall, Hegsth ordered Driscoll to. remove two black and two female officers. from the [music] Army's promotion list. Driscoll, citing their record of. exemplary service, repeatedly refused, prompting a monthslong [music] standoff.

The Times has reported that Driscoll is. now barely on speaking terms with. Hegsth. Hegath has fired or forced out [music]. roughly a half dozen senior officers, prompting questions over a widening. vacuum of leadership in the Army's top. ranks. Finally, a jury in Las Vegas on Monday. [music] found a man guilty of. orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac. [music] Shakur, delivering a conviction. nearly 30 years after one of the most.

notorious killings in hip hop. Dwayne Keith Davis was accused [music]. of obtaining the gun used in the. shooting and pursuing Shakur during a. gang war that became entangled in the. feud between East Coast and West Coast. hip hop [music] labels. Davis was found guilty of first-degree. murder. He promised he would appeal. Today's episode [music] was produced by. Diana Wyn and Carlos Prito. It was.

edited by [music] Chris Hel and Liz O. Balin with help from Paige Cowit with. research help from Susan [music] Lee and. contains music by Leah Shaw Damron, Alicia Baup, [music]. Pat McCusker, Marian Lozano, and Diane. Wong. Our theme [music] music is by. Wonderly. This episode was engineered by. Alyssa Moxley. [music].

That's it for the [music] daily. I'm. Zolan Kano Youngs. See you tomorrow. [music].