[Gazelle]

Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter

Gulf War Syndrome Is Real, Panel Concludes


From News Services
Tuesday, November 18, 2008; A14


A report released yesterday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate condition suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. Military veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The congressionally mandated report could help veterans who have battled the government for treatment of a wide range of unexplained neurological illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and brain cancer.

[SallyC]

Yep, this is not the first time I've heard this. Another notch in the belt of all the horrendous chemicals we have been forced to ingest..

Thanks River.

[Riverwild]

Originally Posted by Gazelle

Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter

Gulf War Syndrome Is Real, Panel Concludes


From News Services
Tuesday, November 18, 2008; A14


A report released yesterday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate condition suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. Military veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The congressionally mandated report could help veterans who have battled the government for treatment of a wide range of unexplained neurological illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and brain cancer.

I saw that this afternoon too! Isn't it nice that after almost 20 years of our soldiers suffering, a commission being convened and finally filing their report, that they are able to report that what these people have gone through is REAL???? Pardon my sarcasm here... but am I the only one who wants to slap someone around for wasting money on a commission and not doing the right thing and HELPING these people right from the start when it became clear that something was very, very wrong?...Arrrrgh!

Originally Posted by SallyC

Yep, this is not the first time I've heard this. Another notch in the belt of all the horrendous chemicals we have been forced to ingest..

Thanks River.

Hey Sal...no problem...really!

Thanks Gazelle!

[Gazelle]

Originally Posted by SallyC

Thanks River.

Um.... Gazelle? Or did RW steal my identity for a moment there?

Originally Posted by Riverwild

Pardon my sarcasm here... but am I the only one who wants to slap someone around for wasting money on a commission and not doing the right thing and HELPING these people right from the start when it became clear that something was very, very wrong?...Arrrrgh!



Hey Sal...no problem...really!

Thanks Gazelle!

Sure thing, Sal... um.... Riverwild!

Yeah, I agree with you.

I also have to choke back on something that I read (and believe me I have the utmost respect for servicemembers and their families) that was complaining about how long it takes for Vets to get VA benefits ($$ benefits) and how impoverished it can make the family if they have to wait 6 months. I 'bout split a gasket because I thought about all the people on SSA's waiting list for benefits and how it takes years. Ok, so BOTH systems are broken when it comes to disability benefits and they're BOTH federal programs so WHO is gonna fix that?????

Sheesh....

[SallyC]

OOPS..Sorry Gazzy...my bad..

Thanks, Gazzy and thanks, River for thanking Gazzy..

[CayoKay]

thanks, River! (and Gazzy too, heh heh heh!)

my brother is a Gulf War I veteran, and suffers from being downwind when the military blew up Saddam's underground bunkers and facilities at Khamisiyah, containing who knows WHAT vile substances... (he was with the 1st Armored Division, as a scout),

In 1997, the US Government released an unclassified report that stated, "The US Intelligence Community has assessed that Iraq did not use chemical weapons during the Gulf war. However, based on a comprehensive review of intelligence information and relevant information made available by the United Nations Special Commission, we conclude that chemical warfare agents were released as a result of US postwar demolition of rockets with chemical warheads in a bunker (called Bunker 73 by Iraq) and a pit in an area known as Khamisiyah."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_syndrome

also, some troops were given *many* untested vaccinations at the same time, when the shots should have been SPREAD OUT over time, not given all at once. (due to possible interactions, and cumulative effects)

in addition, the troops were given pyridostigmine bromide.

Used in particular during the first Gulf War, pyridostigmine bromide has been implicated as a causal factor in Gulf War syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyridostigmine

when you add in the exposure to depleted uranium to the mix of insecticides, vaccinations, and exposure to unknown biochem agents, you have one big fat MESS.

my heart aches for our vets, treated so shabbily, and their plaints mostly ignored for almost EIGHTEEN years now, it makes me want to CRY.

my brother has made it his life's work to assist fellow Veterans, first with the Gulf War Veterans of Georgia, then National Gulf War Resource Center, then with the VBA (the benefits division of the VA), and later with Veterans for Common Sense, and other advocacy groups.

"After 17 years of official government delays and denials, VA's Research Advisory Committee should be commended for their work providing facts about Gulf War illnesses," said Paul Sullivan, executive director of VCS. "Veterans for Common Sense is concerned that there are up to 210,000 Gulf War veterans who remain ill after serving the 1991 Gulf War, and these veterans still need healthcare and disability benefits."

http://www.truthout.org/111808A

and if you made it this far, and are still interested... here's my brother's 1999 testimony before the House, on GWI:

http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/s...16-99/ngwr.htm

[SandyC]

Originally Posted by Gazelle

I also have to choke back on something that I read (and believe me I have the utmost respect for servicemembers and their families) that was complaining about how long it takes for Vets to get VA benefits ($$ benefits) and how impoverished it can make the family if they have to wait 6 months. I 'bout split a gasket because I thought about all the people on SSA's waiting list for benefits and how it takes years. Ok, so BOTH systems are broken when it comes to disability benefits and they're BOTH federal programs so WHO is gonna fix that?????

Sheesh....

When I saw this I automatically assumed they meant vets who are completely disabled and facing the civilian world after being strictly military for so long and cannot work or make money. Not to mention the shell shock of coming out of wartime to peacetime. I can tell you that some vets wait longer than six months so that number is way off. With wartime they are getting swamped with applications for disability. Jim and I see the PT room everytime we go in and there are more and more vets filling it up. Those who come out who can work are faced with no job, no insurance and no experience in many jobs. All they know is the military. So, taking that long is hard on many when they fought for the country and the country is not there for them.

When Jim was medically retired, peacetime, it was a shock to our systems after being in the arms of the military. We were Ok though since we could both work. I can't imagine being thrust into the civilian world after losing limbs and not being cared for by the very system you went out to fight for. We were also lucky in that it was peacetime so things went a little faster and Jim was medically disabled and retained his insurance for the family.

Anyway, your right, both systems are flawed for sure. No one should have to wait when they have put in their money and time. Period. It's no wonder so many are homeless, not just vets, but civilians as well. Makes me steaming mad.

[lady_express_44]

Originally Posted by Gazelle

A report released yesterday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate condition suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. Military veterans who were exposed to chemical toxins in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The congressionally mandated report could help veterans who have battled the government for treatment of a wide range of unexplained neurological illnesses, including multiple sclerosis and brain cancer.

Interesting that they have been able to conclude this, supposedly without knowing the CAUSE of these conditions at this point in history. i.e. WHY is there more incidence of MS and cancer in this group?

Don't get me wrong . . . I'm very glad they are admitting it. But if they are taking accountibility, as if it was "job hazard", you'd think they would have a pretty god idea of how people get these "unexplained neurological conditions". Since when does anyone take responsibility when the the cause and effect factor hasn't been established?

Cherie

[SandyC]

Originally Posted by lady_express_44

Interesting that they have been able to conclude this, supposedly without knowing the CAUSE of these conditions at this point in history. i.e. WHY is there more incidence of MS and cancer in this group?

Don't get me wrong . . . I'm very glad they are admitting it. But if they are taking accountibility, as if it was "job hazard", you'd think they would have a pretty god idea of how people get these "unexplained neurological conditions". Since when does anyone take responsibility when the the cause and effect factor hasn't been established?

Cherie

Cherie, because they are in the military. Whenever you are injured or contract any kind of disease in the military while on active duty you can be considered service connected. I do not believe they are admitting to anything or establishing the "why" factor. They are simply recognizing that it should be covered if it occurs within an allotted time frame, which has been a thorn in the benefits department for sometime.

Think of it like workers compensation. If your injured on the job you can get worker's comp. Soldiers have been fighting for some time to establish benefits for neurological diseases. No one can say it's the military causing them because there are civilians who get ms and/or other diseases without being in the military.

One thing I do know 100% is that these soldiers, both male and female go through rigorous duty and are exposed to many chemicals both during peacetime and wartime. Jim was serving in Jordan the year before he started having symptoms but no one has ever declared his tour as being the reason he got ms. I personally do not think the military causes these problems but do know the work a soldier does can indeed exacerbate the disease. He was on the border of Jordan and Iraq. Iraq and Iran were at war and using neuro gases such as mustard gas. Jim said you could hear the war from where they were. Did it help bring on his ms? Who knows?

The bottom line is our soldiers are coming home with neurological problems either from the hard duty they perform or from exposure to something that intensifies disease to come on. Either way, it is service connected and they should be compensated just as civilians should when they work all their lives and pay into SS.

Hope that helped explain it better.

[lady_express_44]

Thanks Sandy.

I guess the system is different here, and I'm not sure what this result means then.

If we hurt ourselves "on the job", like we blow our leg off, impale ourselves, lose a finger, slip and fall . . . anything that is CAUSED by the job, then we have to prove that it happened BECAUSE of the job, and then we are covered by Workers Compensation. If we can be retrained for something, they have to pay for that, and if we can't, we are compensated (wages) through to life.

If we just get sick, like cancer, MS, Parkinsons, etc., and it is NOT or not proven to be related to the job, then we get Long Term Disability. Again, if we can be set up in another job, they'll do that, and if we can't, we are compensated (wages) through to retirement age. (NOTE: Not everyone has LTD coverage here, but most do, and definitely any government job does.)

So, whether the government acknowledged the illness or not, people would be covered for "unexplained neurological conditions" through LTD.

Is that not the case there . . . that they had coverage no matter what?

Cherie