House Oversight Committee presses Navy on brain injuries among aviators

FIRST ON FOX: Leaders on the House Oversight Committee are pressing the Navy for answers on the prevalence of traumatic brain injuries among aviators and flight officers, accusing the service of failing to fully understand or address the psychological toll of flight operations.

In a new letter to Navy Secretary John Phelan, the lawmakers requested documents and data on brain injuries, cognitive dysfunction and mental health issues in the fleet, warning that the Navy has never conducted a comprehensive investigation into the risks facing pilots.

“The Committee is concerned that the Navy is failing to adequately understand or address the underlying causes of traumatic brain injuries, cognitive dysfunction, and mental health issues affecting aviators and flight officers,” reads the letter by Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., chair of the Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. 

“The lack of information on this issue also raises concerns about the adequacy of the information that is being provided to Congress and decisionmakers regarding the health and welfare of our warfighters,” it went on.

“It is critical that the Navy take all necessary steps to identify the potential health risks facing aviators and flight officers.”

The letter requested all “reports, statistical data, medical studies, situational assessments, and substantive communications, including memoranda or email attachments, relating to F-18 aviator mental and physical health and/or suicide from January 1, 2023, to the present.” 

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The Navy did not return a request for comment before publication deadline. 

Earlier this year, Comer and Timmons wrote asking for information about a secret Navy TOPGUN project launched in 2024 to study the brain injury phenomena, called Project Odin.

“Landing aboard an aircraft carrier, it’s literally a car crash. It’s the equivalent force of sitting in your driveway, in your car, and having a crane take you up to the second story and dropping you,” Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, a TOPGUN graduate and F/A-18 fighter pilot, told Fox News Digital earlier this year. He said he suffers from the brain injuries scrutinized by the project. 

In a new letter to Navy Secretary…