Invisible Wounds Foundation

Twenty-five years since September 11th. Invisible Wounds Foundation marks that anniversary at our 2026 Evening of Honor, Sunday, September 13th at The Morton Arboretum.

We'll be honoring the courage of the warriors who served over the last 25 years, with special guest Martha Raddatz joining us in conversation.

Bring a friend, a colleague, or your whole family. Tickets and tables are available now.

Traveling in? Our discounted hotel room block closes August 30th. Tickets and lodging information here: https://givebutter.com/2026-iwf-eoh

Special operations forces face high rates of traumatic brain injury, from blast exposure in combat to breaching drills in training. A RAND report, funded by the Invisible Wounds Foundation, found that less than 5% of TBI research over the past decade focused on this population, despite carrying a disproportionate share of the risk. Even less addresses long-term recovery, only about one in ten studies looks past diagnosis.

The Association of the US Army covered the findings this week: https://www.ausa.org/news/rand-urges-more-tbi-research-special-ops-troops

Rand Urges More TBI Research for Special Ops Troops Though special operations forces have a higher risk of sustaining traumatic brain injury, existing research on the population is fragmented, according to a recent report from the Rand Corp.

Less than a month until the 2026 Evening of Honor!

On September 13, we'll gather at the Morton Arboretum Firefly Pavilion for an evening honoring the courage of those who've served, and the work still ahead in diagnosing the traumatic brain injuries too many carry home unseen.

Special guest Martha Raddatz, ABC News' chief global affairs correspondent, joins us alongside host Mark Rivera of ABC 7 Chicago.

We can't wait to welcome you. Get your tickets or table today: https://givebutter.com/2026-iwf-eoh

Just announced: journalist Martha Raddatz joins us at the 2026 Evening of Honor.

For more than two decades, ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz has reported on America's wars from the front lines, embedded with U.S. forces. She's spent her career telling the stories of the people who serve, their courage, their sacrifice, and the wounds they carry long after they come home. This is the same work at the heart of the Invisible Wounds Foundation.

At the Evening of Honor, she'll lead an onstage conversation in that same spirit of patriotism and purpose, drawn from her New York Times bestseller, The Hero Next Door. Every guest will take home a copy.

Emmy-winning ABC 7 Chicago anchor Mark Rivera, who's interviewed Martha before, will be our host.

Twenty-five years since 9/11. The stories still deserve to be told, and the wounds still deserve to be healed.

Sunday, September 13, at The Morton Arboretum. We hope you'll join us.

Registration and sponsorship details: https://givebutter.com/2026-iwf-eoh

Most people picture a brain injury as something you'd see right away. Blast wave TBIs don't work that way. There's no easy diagnostic test yet, so symptoms like insomnia, mood changes, and cognitive fog often get folded into a PTSD diagnosis, when the real cause may be a physical brain injury going untreated.

Dr. James Kelly, our Chief Medical Scientist and founding director of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, put it this way: "We're getting there, but it's imperfect. We in the scientific community are still looking for a multimodality approach to diagnose much earlier, cognition testing, imaging, eye movement, all of that."

Our founder and CEO, Shannon Finn Connell, PhD, puts it simply: if we saw a visible injury to an arm or a leg, we'd treat it right away. Because brain injuries are invisible, they get missed, "which just compounds everything until it's late in the game."

More than 550,000 service members have been diagnosed with a TBI since 2001. We believe the real number is three to four times higher.

Read the full article from Crystal Kupper at Reserve & National Guard Magazine: https://reservenationalguard.com/reserve-guard-health/experts-sound-alarm-on-overlooked-threat-facing-us-troops-in-iran-conflict/

Experts sound alarm on overlooked threat facing US troops in Iran conflict - Reserve & National Guard The Invisible Wounds Foundation is sounding the alarm on the number of blast wave brain injuries affecting those serving in Epic Fury.

New AP reporting looks at the lasting toll of traumatic brain injury on US troops. Invisible Wounds Foundation Chief Medical Scientist Dr. James Kelly told AP what makes blast exposure different from a blow to the head:

"The blast wave itself can be injurious. It's a different cellular injury. Blast is a different thing than a blunt injury to the head."

A blast doesn't just rattle the brain the way a fall or collision does, it damages tissue through a different mechanism, one doctors are still working to understand. And for any TBI, blast or otherwise, doctors still can't predict who recovers in weeks and who carries symptoms for years.

Nearly 700 service members have been wounded in recent Middle East attacks. Some veterans in the piece went years, even decades, without a diagnosis. A working diagnostic for blast-related TBI would close that gap, which is what the research Invisible Wounds Foundation supports is working toward.

Read the full AP article: https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-traumatic-brain-injuries-troops-ba0137df7504abe6908557afeb2d9ebe

Iran war renews concerns about the lasting toll of traumatic brain injuries to US troops Military officials say the majority of American troops wounded in the Iran war have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Just six weeks until the 2026 Evening of Honor!

On Sunday, September 13, the Invisible Wounds Foundation gathers at The Morton Arboretum to recognize those who have honorably served, and to commit to the research that will help our warfighters heal from the invisible wounds of war.

An evening of inspiring stories, gratitude, and purpose. We hope you'll be in the room.

Registration and sponsorship details: https://givebutter.com/2026-iwf-eoh

Warfare keeps outpacing brain injury research, and the gap is widening.

More than 600 U.S. troops have been wounded in Iran's drone war, most with traumatic brain injuries. Unlike the roadside bombs of past wars, drone blasts often come from above, leaving the head more exposed than older TBI research accounted for.

"Anatomically the head is much more vulnerable under those circumstances," Dr. James Kelly, Invisible Wounds Foundation's Chief Medical Scientist and founding director of the DoD's National Intrepid Center of Excellence, told Stars & Stripes.

Meanwhile, Pentagon funding for TBI research has dropped more than 75% since 2024, even as the need keeps growing. A reliable diagnostic for blast-related TBI still doesn't exist for living patients. That's the gap we are working to close.

Read the full piece: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/2026-07-29/brain-injuries-iran-drones-22397394.html

Iran war brain injuries could outlast US troops’ return to duty Iran’s drone attacks are adding new urgency to research into blast-related brain trauma among U.S. troops.

Twenty-five years ago, following the attacks on September 11th, many answered the call to defend our nation.

On Sunday, September 13, the Invisible Wounds Foundation will gather at The Morton Arboretum for our 2026 Evening of Honor, recognizing 25 years of patriotism and purpose since 9/11.

This will be an evening of inspiring stories, of gratitude for those who have honorably served, and of commitment to the research that will help our warfighters address the invisible wounds of war.

We hope you'll join us. Registration and sponsorship details can be found here: https://givebutter.com/2026-iwf-eoh

Funding for veterans' brain injury research is shrinking just as the need is growing, according to new reporting from John Donnelly at Roll Call.

Pentagon-funded research into TBI and psychological health dropped from $175 million to $40.5 million between FY24 and FY26, a 77% cut, with the FY27 defense bill working through the House holding that funding flat. Meanwhile, new VA data shows a 26% rise in TBI cases among veterans since 2021, over 114,000 additional cases in just four years.

As Invisible Wounds Foundation CEO Shannon Finn Connell, PhD, and DAV (Disabled American Veterans) National Commander Coleman Nee put it in the piece, "Congress must act now to drive research to prevent, diagnose and treat TBI in the military and veteran communities."

Pentagon-funded TBI research has support from both parties in Congress, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA).

The need is growing. The funding isn't keeping pace. That gap is exactly why this work matters right now.

Read the full story: https://rollcall.com/2026/07/20/surge-in-veterans-brain-injuries-shown-in-va-records/

Surge in veterans’ brain injuries shown in VA records The number of former servicemembers enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs system who have had traumatic brain injuries spiked considerably in the last four years on record, new data from the department shows. The figures, which were posted on the VA website last week, demonstrate that the n...