House Oversight Committee Points to Several Cases of Traumatic Brain Injury

Leaders of the House Oversight Committee are pushing - more like shoving - the Navy to round up data related to the brain health of its F-18 pilots. Their letter references recent reports of cognitive dysfunction and mental health issues in flight crews, especially those who are frequently hurled off boats at 200 miles per hour.

In a new letter to Navy Secretary John Phelan, Chairman James Comer and Representative William Timmons accused the Navy of failing to fully understand the risks posed to F-18 aviators. They asked for all available medical studies, reports, statistical data, and communications related to aviator brain health since January 2023. The committee wants answers by September 11, 2025.

Their point has clear standing: the Navy has yet to complete a comprehensive investigation into what years of catapult launches, hard carrier landings, and high-G dogfights do to the human brain. That gap, they argue, also means Congress isn’t getting reliable information on the actual health of the people behind the controls of their expensive jets.

The push follows revelations about “Project Odin”: a Navy effort started in 2024 to examine brain injury in aviators. The program was reportedly launched without approval from Navy Medical or Air Commands, raising concern about whether the Navy knows how serious the problem really is… or just doesn’t want it put on paper.

Veterans have been sharing their side of the story. Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a former F/A-18 pilot and TOPGUN graduate, has described carrier landings as “literally a car crash” and said the brain-jarring catapult launches and sustained G-forces left him and many peers with lasting cognitive problems. Buckley, now running a veterans’ anti-suicide group, says the Navy still markets fighter flying as glamorous while ignoring what happens to pilots’ bodies and minds thousands of hours later.

Reports from earlier this year highlighted symptoms ranging from insomnia and anxiety to memory loss, depression, and even suicide among Super Hornet crews. Buckley himself said he initially blamed confusion and irritability on the Navy’s drinking culture before realizing they were signs of injury.

FMI: www.navy.mil