Three months after suffering a traumatic brain injury and several broken bones in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed eight other soldiers, former Lebanon resident Scot Noss, 29, is in the beginning stages of awakening from a coma.

&#8220He's improved to some degree, but the concern continues to be around his level of consciousness," said Ryan Noss, Scot's brother.

A MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying Scot and other special operations personnel crashed in southeastern Afghanistan between Kabul and Kandahar on Feb. 18, killing eight soldiers and injuring 14. The military said mechanical failure, not hostile fire, caused the accident.

After being stabilized in Germany, Scot was transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. He was later transferred to the James A. Haley Medical Center in Tampa, Fla., for rehabilitation. Ryan said that most of the broken and cracked bones Scot suffered in the accident have healed and he was recently sent back to Bethesda, where he continues to receive neurological treatment.

President Bush visited Scot and family members at Bethesda on May 25, Ryan said.

Scot is scheduled to undergo a cranioplasty on May 30 to replace a section of skull doctors removed on the day of accident to relieve pressure caused by the swelling of his brain. &#8220Cranioplasty allows people to make additional progress because it equalizes pressure around the brain," Ryan said.

Scot is under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Rocco Armanda, who also treated ABC reporter Bob Woodward after he suffered a traumatic brain injury caused by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2006. &#8220He (Rocco) is the best in the world in that field, and we feel fortunate to have him," Ryan said.

Friends of Scot Noss set up up a page on the website CaringBridge.org to keep people updated on Scot's condition. So far the page has had over 26,000 visits.

&#8220We've had tremendous support from the community. We really appreciate that the community continues to keep us in their thoughts and prayers," Ryan said.

Scot is a 1996 graduate of Lebanon High School. He traveled with the Youth With a Mission ministry for a year after high school before joining the U.S. Army. He is a Staff Sergeant assigned to special operations.

His parents are Ron Noss, a retired Linn County deputy and Nelda, a retired elementary school teacher. Ryan is principal of Pioneer School in Lebanon and his sister, Holley Christophersen, lives in Albany. Scott has been married to RyAnne Noss, who is originally from Birmingham, Ala., for three years.

For updates on Scot's condition and to send messages to the family, visit www.caringbridge.org. Click &#8220visit a CaringBridge site" in the upper right corner, then enter the name &#8220scottnoss."