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5 Medical Advances From the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan That Could Help You

Research on burn pits, brain injury and PTSD in veterans is leading to better care for everyday Americans

3-minute read

Sari Harrar,

AARP

Published November 06, 2026

a person in military combat uniform looks at a screen that is displaying a live video call with a health care professional

Ryan Olbrysh

Key takeaways

Five medical advances developed or accelerated for post-9/11 veterans are now improving civilian care.
Military health research has reshaped how doctors prevent blood loss and treat brain injuries, PTSD and lung problems.
Innovations created for combat and remote deployments are helping Americans receive emergency care, specialized treatment and telehealth services.

Combat medical breakthroughs have saved civilian lives on the American homefront for generations—from blood transfusions perfected in World War I and mass-produced penicillin in World War II to the Vietnam War’s advances in burn care and medivac helicopters. The post-9/11 era is no different, says Anthony Szema, MD, director of Northwell Health Foundation International Center of Excellence in Deployment Health and Medical Geosciences.

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“Our research on burn pit environmental exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan is translating into better care for people exposed to wildfire smoke, dust and soot left after home fires and wildfires and to better detection of lung conditions,” says Szema, a pulmonologist in South Setauket, N.Y.

That just one example of recent medical advances created or accelerated to help injured veterans that are now serving civilians. But these advances often go unnoticed. A 2026 University of Colorado poll of 2,055 U.S. adults found that nearly 50 percent were unaware of health innovations that started with military doctors and service members.

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Here are five medical advances with military roots:

A better way to stop bleeding

The public-safety program, Stop the Bleed, was adopted by the American College of Surgeons in 2015, and aims to teach everyday Americans and first responders how to stop life-threatening bleeding in an emergency with modern tourniquets and other strategies. Devised for soldiers in Iran and Afghanistan, the program reduced bleeding deaths in combat zones by two-thirds or more, the Defense Department found, and promises similar results for civilian victims of accidents or violence.

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Holistic care for traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Widely used for military TBIs, multidisciplinary care for this “signature wound” of the War on Terror treats physical symptoms as well as problems with speech and language processing, thinking and memory and emotions, says Jeffrey Hebert, PhD, PT, director of research and physical therapist at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health at the University of Colorado-Anschutz. It’s also used at the Marcus Institute for treating first responders with traumatic brain injuries and is gaining traction in TBI programs at non-military health centers. “Advances in TBI care and research for veterans are creating meaningful spillover into civilian care,” Hebert says.

Advanced PTSD treatments

Before 2013, medical experts didn’t know whether drugs or talk therapy best helped veterans and civilians with post-traumatic stress disorder. Then, large, well-designed military research revolutionized care by validating the use of trauma-focused counseling treatments—now used widely—such as Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy.

Telehealth, when you can’t get to the doctor’s office

More than 28 million older Americans turned to telemedicine during the COVID pandemic. But the innovative treatment approach got a big push much earlier, when the U.S. Army provided video telehealth for radiology, dermatology and more for soldiers in Somalia in 1993. By 2016, Army telehealth services were available in 30 countries—and civilian health systems were offering it to consumers across the U.S.

Better lung care

Szema and other pulmonologists are applying their burn-pit toxin research to dust and soot found in homes damaged in the 2025 Los Angeles fires and to emergency room admissions during and after California wildfires. “When we sample dust floating miles away, we’re finding burned quartz, oxidized burned tungsten, lead and a bunch of minerals that mimic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says. Szema has developed a lung health questionnaire for burn pit victims that can identify people with other lung conditions who would benefit from further testing—so lung conditions can be diagnosed and treated faster.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Sari Harrar is an award-winning reporter and contributing editor to AARP publications who writes on health, public policy and other topics.

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