MAGAZINE AMAESTRO WITH THE AIR GUITAR
SPORTS PROBE LOOMS FOR ARMSTRONG
TRAVEL TWO OF A KIND AT CASINOS IN W.VA.?
METRO AMOTHER- DAUGHTER MIRACLE
ABCDE Partly sunny. 93/76 • Tomorrow: Thunderstorm. 93/74 • details, C10 COMBAT GENERATION: BLOODLESS TRAUMA
DIAGNOSIS: BATTLE WOUND
BRAIN ACTIVITY High
Low Concussion Coma PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs after a traumatic event causes the brain’s limbic system, which controls the body’s physical reaction to stress, to perform differently.
Marine Staff Sgt. James Ownbey
Once dismissed as a sign of weakness, mental injuries are gaining the attention of a military worn down by a decade at war story by Greg Jaffe K photos by Whitney Shefte
T
BUSINESS..........................G1 CLASSIFIEDS.....................K1 EDITORIALS/LETTERS...A16
he 300-pound bomb blasted Ma- rine Staff Sgt. James Ownbey’s mine-resistant truck so high that it snapped power lines before it slammed to the dusty ground in western Iraq. Ownbey, knocked briefly uncon- scious by the blast, awoke to suffo- cating black smoke and a swirling
cloud of dirt. He felt for the vehicle’s door, then stum- bled into the sunlight where he was joined by the rest of the woozy three-man crew. Their bodies were sore, but they looked fine. A Marine general visiting from Washington heard about the blast and came to see the three survivors. As Gen. James F. Amos laid a hand on Ownbey’s neck, his aide snapped a picture, proof of the new vehicle’s efficacy against insurgent bombs. “I kind of felt separated from myself,” Ownbey re- called of the aftermath of the 2007 blast. “It didn’t feel like anything was real.” Two years after the explosion, Amos and Ownbey met again, this time in a cramped room at the Nation-
al Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Ownbey had been overtaken by terrifying panic attacks, puzzling memory loss and strange rib-snapping coughing fits that left him hospitalized for weeks at a time. Doctors diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and trau- matic brain injury, caused by battlefield concussions. For Amos, seeing Ownbey’s condition was the mo- ment that the bloodless trauma of the Iraq and Af- ghanistan wars became tangible. “I thought we can’t do this anymore,” said Amos, referring to the mili- tary’s slow response to treating PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Ownbey’s descent from dazed survivor to bed- ridden Marine exemplifies the debilitating passage of troops afflicted with PTSD and traumatic brain in- jury. His story also traces the military’s awakening. Senior commanders have reached a turning point.
After nine years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are beginning to recognize age-old legacies of the bat- tlefield — once known as shell shock or battle fatigue —as combat wounds, not signs of weakness. Gen. Pe-
wounds continued on A6
by Keith B. Richburg in shanghai
MMS oil-rig probes show history of inconsistency Putting a lid
Reports reveal intensity of inquiries, levels of punishment erratic
by Marc Kaufman,
Carol D. Leonnig and David Hilzenrath
A year and a day before BP’s Deep-
water Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, crew members on a neighboring oil rig found themselves bracing for their own potential dis- aster. A dangerous gas bubble surged up
a well pipe, and the blowout prevent- ers hadn’t worked. The crew reported hearing a “deafening roar” as fluids
The accident on the rig, leased by
on hopelessness The gulf oil disaster bristles with unknowns and officials remain concerned, but a win at long last is still powerful — for now. A8
Oil’s long reach
creates petro-state Louisiana’s relationship with the oil industry, which dates from the early 20th century, affects the state in countless ways. Outlook
shot up, knocking over huge metal equipment on the deck. Alarms sounded. Some workers ran to life- boats, while others stayed behind to control the well.
GOING OUT GUIDE.Magazine HOME SALES......................J1 LOTTERIES.........................C3
MOVIES ..............................E7 OBITUARIES...................C6-9 OMBUDSMAN..................A15
Louisiana Land Oil and Gas (LLOG), was one of the 12,087 oil-related in- cidents in the gulf reported over the past five years to the federal Minerals Management Service — the now- revamped agency investigating the BP oil spill. The number of accidents, spills and deaths regularly occurring in the region has far surpassed the agency’s ability to investigate them. Until now, 60 inspectors were
tasked with investigating all types of incidents. Between 2006 and 2009, those included 30 worker deaths, 1,298 injuries, 514 fires and 23 blow- outs that left wells out of control. They conducted 378 investigations in the gulf in roughly the same time pe-
mms continued on A8
STOCKS..............................G6 WEATHER ........................C10 WORLD NEWS.................A10
W
hat can $1,475 buy you in modern China? Not a Tiffany diamond or a mini-sedan, say Rob- ert Zhou and Daisy Chao. But for that price,
they guarantee you something more lasting, with un- questioned future benefits: a U.S. passport and citi- zenship for your new baby. Zhou and Chao, a husband and wife from Taiwan who now live in Shanghai, run one of China’s oldest and most successful consultancies helping well- heeled expectant Chinese mothers travel to the Unit- ed States to give birth. The couple’s service, outlined in a PowerPoint pres-
U.S. COAST GUARD VIA GETTY IMAGES
Fire engulfs the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people died in the accident.
entation, includes connecting the expectant mothers with one of three Chinese-owned “baby care centers” in California. For the $1,475 basic fee, Zhou and Chao will arrange for a three-month stay in a center — two months before the birth and a month after. A room with cable TV and a wireless Internet connection, plus three meals, starts at $35 a day. The doctors and staff all speak Chinese. There are shopping and sight- seeing trips. The mothers must pay their own airfare and are re- sponsible for getting a U.S. visa, although Zhou and Chao will help them fill out the application form. At a time when China is prospering and the com-
china continued on A12 Printed using recycled fiber
DAILY CODE Details, C2
89 3 8 7
The Washington Post Year 133, No. 225
CONTENTS© 2010
In a normal brain, the frontal cortex signals the hypothalamus and amygdala to stop releasing elevated levels of hormones to the body.
Frontal cortex ACTIVE
Stop
releasing hormones
Hypothalamus Amygdala
In a PTSD brain, the frontal cortex shuts down and the brain kicks into overdrive. Prolonged secretions of hormones can cause a host of physical and mental ailments.
Frontal cortex
INACTIVE
Continue releasing hormones
SOURCES: Journal of Neurotrauma, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps
CRISTINA RIVERO/THE WASHINGTON POST SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010 Traumatic Brain Injury
Multiple concussions can lead to a neurological condition called TBI. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans show how a concussed brain burns energy at the same level of a coma victim.
Normal by Anita Kumar
richmond — For months, aides to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell have been meeting behind closed doors with alcohol retailers and wholesalers, public safety officials and faith-based groups to come up with a way to fulfill one of the governor’s most no- table campaign promises: privatizing the state’s li- quor stores. The consequences of what they come up with are potentially enormous and would amount to one of the most noticeable changes in the relationship be- tween Virginians and their government in years, if not decades. For the drinking-age public, a privatized system could mean many more liquor stores, a much wider variety of libations and lower prices. Like beer and wine, liquor could be sold in grocery stores, big-box stores such as Wal-Mart or anywhere else a licensed dealer chooses to locate. For the state’s ailing transportation network, it would mean a jolt of fresh cash that McDonnell (R) urgently needs as part of his plan to fix roads. Two of McDonnell’s other primary sources of new money for transportation — drilling offshore and tolling in- terstate highways — are highly unlikely to generate any money anytime soon. And for McDonnell, who opposes government-run liquor stores on free-market principles, bringing Democrats and Republicans together on a major is- sue would show that he can deliver on his promises and be the kind of bipartisan leader he has pledged to be.
Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who supports priva-
tization, said changing the way Virginia sells alcohol after 76 years would be a huge victory for McDonnell,
liquor continued on A14
U.S. delivery For many pregnant Chinese, American passport is strong lure
Consultants offer special
Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington.
K MD DC VASV1V2V3V4
washingtonpost.com • $2
McDonnell eager to get Va. out of liquor trade
MOVE TO PRIVATIZE SALES HAS BROAD IMPLICATIONS
Governor’s campaign promise, road-funding strategy on the line
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