Area Gulf War veterans vindicated by report on illnesses
By Andrew Dys - adys@heraldonline.com
York's Gene Blackwell was a general in 1991, but stars on his collar didn't protect him from an invisible enemy in Iraq. As soldiers and Marines invaded Iraq, oil fields burned into black plumes, pesticides intended to protect the troops filled the air, and the military required most troops to take pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills in case of nerve gas attacks.
Now, 17 years later, Blackwell and thousands of other troops who dealt with health problems after the war finally know the government believes them.
A report this week from the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses shows Gulf War Illness, or Gulf War Syndrome, is real.
Blackwell, now retired, said he experienced shortness of breath over the years since the Gulf War.
"Hundreds of oil fields were burning, and we were right in the middle of it for two weeks," Blackwell said. "Your face, nose was black. Absolutely, it had an impact."
Memory problems, chronic headaches, pain and other symptoms have been reported by thousands of veterans. But until now there was almost nobody listening: No diagnosis for at least a quarter of the almost 700,000 U.S. troops who complained of symptoms after the war.
One South Carolina soldier, Marguerite Knox of Columbia, has fought for Gulf War Illness recognition and treatment since her service in 1990 and 1991 at a Middle East evacuation hospital during the war. She later suffered severe sinus infections and cognitive loss after exposure. Now a lieutenant colonel with the S.C. National Guard, Knox first served on the presidential advisory committee studying Gulf War sickness before becoming a member of the committee that released the report to the federal Veterans Affairs office Monday. Chemicals were clearly released when the U.S. forces blew up existing weapons the Iraqis had stockpiled, Knox said.
"This is vindication," said Knox, a nurse practitioner in civilian life. Unlike most vets who had to rely on a skeptical VA that had not diagnosed them for health care after the war, Knox said her medical background gave her access to better medical care to handle the Gulf War symptoms. "It took until 1996 for anyone to admit there was even exposure to chemical agents. This day was a long time coming."
Gulf War veteran Jim Trone, junior vice commander of Rock Hill's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2889, said he has run into many veterans over the years who complained of sickness from exposure during the war.
The report cites ineffective research and even suggests political and economic reasons for the research not getting done quickly enough. For Gulf War veterans, the report is "nothing more than what a lot of us have known for a long time," said John Gossett of Clover, a retired colonel who had to order his men to take the PB pills every eight hours.
"I have never been satisfied with the research -- this has been a problem with a lot of troops for years." Gossett said. "I am glad it has finally come out and somebody is finally listening to the soldiers who fought over there. The soldiers did a great job and deserve better."
After the war, soldiers went for health screenings complaining of problems, but the Department of Defense did little or nothing about it, Gossett said.
"I always suspected the pesticides, and we were told to take those pills and that is what we did," Gossett said.
Gossett and others said they haven't had symptoms similar to other soldiers -- but that doesn't mean the pesticides or pills or other toxins had no effect. Maybe the problems haven't surfaced yet.
Many soldiers never came forward because of fears they would be perceived by the military as malingerers, or viewed by the public as less than patriotic for speaking up, Gossett said.
"This shows all those fine men were right all along," he said.
Since 1994, the VA has been allowed to compensate Gulf War veterans without a diagnosed illness who had more than 10 percent documented disability, said Pat Nivens, Veterans Affairs officer for York County. But even with the issuing of the report Monday, Nivens said the VA has not directed her office in how to handle veterans affected by the illness.
At Monday's unveiling of the report, the VA promised to make it a priority to find money to treat these veterans, Knox said. But until then, all these veterans have for their service in the Gulf War is an admission, after 17 years, that they really are sick.
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Veterans seeking help can call the county Veterans Affairs Office:
York County, 803-909-7525;
Chester County, 803-385-6157;
Lancaster County, 803-283-2469.
To read the report of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses, go to www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
After 17 years it is time for the VA to quit claiming these medical problems are psychosomatic and award the compensation claims for medical reasons they are, service connected problems related to service in the Gulf War, the next Secretary of the VA has the ability thru mandating these problems as SC by fiat thru signing a decree and publishing it in CFR 38 as Sec Princippi did with ALS otherwise known as Lou Gehrigs disease.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Area Gulf War veterans vindicated by report on illnesses
