Public Health
Sergeant Major Brian Davis - Seventeen deployments and eligibility for three registries
Sergeant Major Brian Davis has had an impressive military career, having served in the Army since graduating high school in 1989. He completed 16 deployments in 28 years, beginning his service as a sniper in Panama with the Army Rangers and ending when he lost his vision during his 17th deployment to Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day, 2017.
To help address his health concerns, Davis joined the Gulf War Registry and the Depleted Uranium Follow-Up Program. Both Environmental Health Registry programs are related to his service and can provide information on how his health conditions are related to exposures.
Davis was wounded by shrapnel containing depleted uranium while serving in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. He was riding atop an armored personnel carrier because there wasn’t enough room for him inside the vehicle. Two duffle bags were propped on either side of him to keep him from falling off the vehicle. During the journey, an M1 Abrams battle tank next to his vehicle ran over a mine.
One hundred and twenty-one pieces of shrapnel from the tank armor blasted into Davis’s body. “The depleted uranium was from the side of metal, the armor on the M1 Abrams tank,” he said. All the shrapnel was removed except for three pieces, which were too close to Davis’s liver and spine for safe removal and are regularly monitored by VA.
“The duffle bags saved me.” Brian Davis
Davis signed up to participate in the Depleted Uranium Follow-Up Program after he left the military. He filled out the preliminary paperwork with help from his wife. “It was easy to do everything. I had a phone call to let me know what was going on.”
The Depleted Uranium Follow-Up program screens and monitors Veterans for health problems associated with exposure to depleted uranium. Through the program, Davis learned about options for more in-depth testing, a chance to be a part of research studies, and treatment options.
He also signed up for the Gulf War Registry in 1993 and saw a primary care doctor as a part of the process. The Gulf War registry includes an exposure and medical history and a physical exam. It is for Veterans who served in the Gulf during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, or New Dawn.
Davis also plans to join the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. As a part of his service near Baghdad, he was involved in burning trash, including human waste and uniforms dipped in DEET to keep off sand flies. “You had to stir it to keep it burning. The smell came up. You put on a bandana, but still, the wind blew, and your face would get black smut.”
Veterans with service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations at any time on or after August 2, 1990, or Afghanistan or Djibouti on or after September 11, 2001, can participate in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. This registry includes an online questionnaire and an in-person health exam.
Davis also served in Somalia in 1993 as an Army ranger, where he was shot in the shoulder, and in Bosnia and Rwanda.
On his last deployment, Davis was on a convoy on top of a mountain, leading his men in a daylight raid. His vehicle was on top of an IED pressure plate, and the IED exploded 12 feet from his vehicle’s window. The pressure blinded him, and Davis was no longer able to stay in the military.
“Now I just see the world through different senses,” said Davis. “I get great treatment from VA. I’ve had a great career, and i loved it.
