You Decide!!
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A federal judge’s decision could lead to clearing the records of military personnel who refused to take mandatory anthrax shots between 1999 and 2004. (April 26, 2008) |
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Pentagon Hoped to Avoid Another 'Gulf War Sydrome' Phenomenon, Says Air Force Colonel. For more than two years, the Pentagon delayed screening troops returning from Iraq for mild brain injuries because officials feared veterans would blame vague ailments on the little-understood wound caused by exposure to bomb blasts, says the military's director of medical assessments. (March 18, 2008) |
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A pill given to U.S. soldiers to help protect them against nerve gas, and pesticides sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes, may have triggered the cluster of symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found. (March 10, 2008) |
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Veterans have no legal right to specific types of medical care, the Bush administration argues in a lawsuit accusing the government of illegally denying mental health treatment to some troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. (Feb. 5, 2008) |
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Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years, a VA official said Monday as he apologized to affected families and pledged reform. Jan. 28, 2008) |
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Thursday, January 17, 2008, Wisconsin held it's 3rd annual Gulf War Illness Recognition Day in Wisconsin. The Badger State was the first in the nation to make such a designation. (Jan. 17, 2008) |
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At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing or been charged in one in the United States after returning from combat, The New York Times reported Sunday. (Jan. 13, 2008) |
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A U.S. Coast Guard officer and devout Catholic has filed suit to prevent being forced to receive a vaccination derived from the lung of an aborted child after a higher ranking officer disputed his understanding of Church theology. (Jan. 13, 2008) |
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Recent passage by the District of Criminals of the legislation known colloquially as the Veteran Disarmament bill raises the question of why the conspiracy for world government would want to disarm returning veterans. (Jan. 4, 2008) |
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For some, combat trauma is complicated and intensified by rape or other sexual abuse, often by comrades they've trained and fought beside. The VA says 20% of women seeking its care since 2002 showed symptoms of military sexual trauma, compared with 1.1% of male veterans. (Jan, 2, 2008) |
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The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. (Nov. 19, 2007) |
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Authorities find 1.8 million SSNs, but VA says only 185,000 numbers are at risk. Man arrested in theft of 1.8 million Social Security numbers! Read More...(Nov. 16, 2007) |
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Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the
highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing
an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.
(Nov. 16, 2007) |
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In a déjà vu announcement, the Department of Veterans Affairs says a computer containing the names, Social Security numbers and birthdates of 12,000 veterans was taken over the Veterans’ Day weekend from the VA medical center in Indianapolis. (Nov. 15, 2007) |
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A 5 month long CBS News Investigation Uncovers A Suicide Rate For Veterans Twice That Of Other Americans!! (Nov. 13, 2007) |
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The two-star general who was fired as the head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center amid reports of shoddy treatment of wounded soldiers has regained favor and will oversee U.S. biological weapons defense research as commander of Fort Detrick in Frederick. (Nov. 13, 2007) |
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A new study by researchers at the Harvard Medical School has found that millions of veterans and their dependents have no access to care in veterans’ hospitals and clinics and no health insurance to pay for care elsewhere. Their plight represents yet another failure of our disjointed health care system to provide coverage for all Americans. (Nov.9, 2007) |
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The Department of Veterans Affairs has limited the surgical privileges of three doctors at the troubled Marion VA Medical Center in southern Illinois, and it is reviewing the credentials of 17,000 other health-care providers for veterans across the country, VA officials told a Senate committee on Tuesday. (Nov. 7, 2007) |
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Privacy concerns had kept the files sealed except to veterans, their immediate families or historians and others with special permission. A 2004 agreement with the Pentagon allows the National Archives to release personnel files to anyone 62 years after a service member leaves the military. (Nov. 7, 2007) |
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About one of every eight veterans under the age of 65 is uninsured, a finding that contradicts the assumption many have that all vets qualify for free health care through the Veterans Affairs Department, says a new study. (Oct. 31, 2007) |
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Edwin H. Cosby III Vietnam Vet. explains the secret code on the 26,000,000
veteran's DD214 forms, and how it is used against the veterans. (Sept. 2007) |
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More than half a year after disclosures of systemic problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals, the Pentagon's promised fixes are threatened by staff shortages and uncertainty about how best to improve long-term care for wounded troops, according to a congressional report issued yesterday. (Sept. 27, 2007) |
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Sixteen years after the Persian Gulf War ended, more than 1 in 4 of those
who fought remain seriously ill with medical problems ranging from severe
fatigue and joint pain to Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis and brain cancer, the chairman of a congressional advisory committee testified Tuesday. (Sept. 26, 2007) |
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The Department of Defense has released a plan to improve mental-health care
for American troops who are facing multiple tours in war zones. (Sept. 26, 2007) |
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The Veterans Disarmament Act -- which has already passed the House -- would place any veteran who has ever been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the federal gun ban list. (Sept. 22, 2007) |
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Thank you for saving us from having to face hell and danger that you did! Oh, by the way, as a tangible way to honor your heroic, faithfulness to our country, we plan to take your guns away! (Sept. 22, 2007) |
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Here are photos of members of “Gathering of Eagles” who assaulted gold star father Carlos Arredondo in broad daylight in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2007, throwing him to the ground and kicking him. |
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Canada will compensate people who may have been hurt by U.S. testing of the defoliant Agent Orange at a Canadian military base in New Brunswick during the Vietnam War, the government said. (Sept. 12, 2007 |
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To ensure veterans with emotional crises have round-the-clock access to
trained professionals, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has begun
operation of a national suicide prevention hot line for veterans. The toll-free hot line number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). (July 30, 2007) |
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U.S. veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War
may face an increased risk of high blood pressure, an expert panel said,
citing what it called limited but important evidence. (July 27, 2007) |
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R. James Nicholson, the secretary of veterans affairs, resigned yesterday and said he would leave his post by Oct. 1, ending a tenure marked by the largest data breach in the federal government's history and sharp criticism of the care given to injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. (July 17, 2007) |
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We, the U.S. have lost over 158,000 American lives to the Vietnam war and that count is still rising. Approx 58,000 in Vietnam. 100,000 or more to suicide and most of those occurred after the men came home. (July 18, 2007) |
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A push is underway to help Vermont Guard soldiers who returned from the Iraq
War suffering from invisible mental wounds. Sanders and other members of
Congress are pushing for a 30-million dollar appropriation to establish
similar Outreach Programs across the nation based on the Vermont model. (July 16, 2007) |
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Researchers from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have uncovered a molecular mechanism that governs the formation of fears stemming from traumatic events. The work could lead to the first drug to treat the millions of adults who suffer each year from persistent, debilitating fears - including hundreds of soldiers returning from conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. (July 15, 2007) |
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A group of Navy veterans says that findings from a study of the health effects of at-sea biological and chemical weapons testing on thousands of sailors 40 years ago are flawed because the study ignored those with the highest levels of exposure. (July 5, 2007) |
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More than 800 of them have lost an arm, a leg, fingers or toes. More than 100 are blind. Dozens need tubes and machines to keep them alive. Hundreds are disfigured by burns, and thousands have brain injuries and mangled minds. These are America's war wounded, a toll that has received less attention than the 3,500 troops killed in Iraq. Depending on how you count them, they number between 35,000 and 53,000. (June 24, 2007) |
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Gates promised Thursday to improve the much-criticized mental health system for the military, declaring "this is something that we can, must and will get fixed." (June 21, 2007) |
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The Army said Friday that it has opened an investigation into the recent discovery of 4,500 letters and parcels — some dating to May 2006 — at Walter Reed that were never delivered to soldiers. (June 16, 2007) |
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A Marine assigned to take photos of the 24 Iraqi civilians killed in
Haditha testified Thursday that he was later ordered to destroy the images.
(June 2007) |
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The Marine Corps agreed Thursday to revamp its recruiting practices in
Northern California and pay $200,000 to two young women who claimed they
were raped during a slumber party at a Ukiah recruiting office. (June 2007) |
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A key Senate committee wants a full explanation by Sept. 1 about why
Internet access has been limited for deployed troops, including to such
popular Web sites as MySpace and YouTube. The Senate Armed Services
Committee did not, however, go so far as to order Internet access restored. (June 11, 2007) |
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| "The Army now admits that it secretly dumped 64 million pounds of nerve and mustard agents into the sea, along with 400,000 chemical-filled bombs, land mines and rockets and more than 500 tons of radioactive waste - either tossed overboard or packed into the holds of scuttled vessels." (June 12, 2007) | |
| US war veterans are twice as likely to kill themselves as ordinary civilians, a study following 320,890 men found. (June 11, 2007) | |
| For the first time since the Iraq war began, the Army is notifying thousands from a special category of reservists that they must report this summer for medical screening and other administrative tasks. (June 12, 2007) | |
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After watching his roommate fatally wounded in a roadside bombing, an Army
private wonders why the lives of good men are being lost when the Iraqis
pose no threat to us and don’t want us there. (June 2007) |
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| Soldiers returning from war are finding it more difficult to get mental health treatment because military insurance is cutting payments to therapists, on top of already low reimbursement rates and a tangle of red tape. (June 2007) | |
brain injuries, post-traumatic stress |
All soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan who seek treatment at Veterans Affairs hospitals are being screened for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said Monday. (JUNE 2007) |
| The risk of suicide among male U.S. veterans is double that of the general population, according to a study published Monday. (June 12, 2007) | |
'appointments' |
The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to significantly overstate its success in getting patients to see doctors for timely appointments, undercutting one of its key claims of success, according to a draft report obtained by McClatchy Newspapers. (June 2007) |
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Thanks to couple's efforts, troops in Iraq get instruments. The Baker's have
shipped more than 300 guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, drums and wind instruments to Iraq to ease the strain of the soldiering life. (June 12, 2007) |
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| A federal judge yesterday ordered the military to temporarily refrain from awarding the largest security contract in Iraq. The order followed an unusual series of events set off when a U.S. Army veteran filed a protest against the government practice of hiring what he calls mercenaries, according to sources familiar with the matter. (June 2, 2007) | |
| Since the start of the Iraq war, the military has begun holding on to amputees, treating them in rehab programs like the one at Fort Sam Houston and promising to help them return to active duty if that is what they want. So far, the Army has treated nearly 600 service members who have come back from Iraq or Afghanistan as amputees. Thirty-one have gone back to active duty, and no one who asked to remain in the service has been discharged, Arata said. (May 31, 2007) | |
| A St. Robert woman sued the federal government yesterday for alleged negligence regarding her husband's death in a veterans hospital. He was being treated at the Truman Veteran's Administration Hospital in Columbia. The veteran was allegedly confused and disoriented on June 5, 2005, and made repeated attempts to remove his medical tubes. The complaint alleged he was left unrestrained, and was later found face down in the grass outside the hospital. He allegedly died from a brain injury two days later. (May 2007) | |
| As benefits administrators, officials and politicians argue the worthiness of studies on Gulf War syndrome, researchers say they have no doubts that they’ve found the root of the problem. Sarin gas. (May 25, 2007) | |
| Scientists working with the Defense Department have found evidence that a low-level exposure to sarin nerve gas — the kind experienced by more than 100,000 American troops in the Persian Gulf war of 1991 — could have caused lasting brain deficits in former service members. (May 17, 2007) | |
| US soldiers in Iraq do not carry the bacteria responsible for difficult-to-treat wound infections found in military hospitals treating soldiers wounded in Iraq, according to an article to be published electronically on Wednesday, May 16, 2007, in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The article will appear in the June issue of the journal. (May 16, 2007) | |
Given |
The Department of Defense stated that "all service members' vaccinations are
documented in the individual's permanent medical record." But Fey's military
medical records revealed no shot on that day. Another Marine in Fey's unit
told Target 5 that there is no shot listed in his medical records either and
also said that the people who administered the shot never told his unit what
it was. (May 8, 207) |
| Nearly two dozen officials who received hefty performance bonuses last year at the Veterans Affairs Department also sat on the boards charged with recommending the payments. (May 16, 2007) | |
| Congressional leaders on Thursday demanded that the Veterans Affairs secretary explain hefty bonuses for senior department officials involved in crafting a budget that came up $1 billion short and jeopardized veterans' health care. (May 3, 2007) | |
| Veterans of the first Gulf War who developed numerous health complaints have areas of the brain that are measurably smaller than those of healthier vets, a new study found. (May 2, 2007) | |
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U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kit Bond (R-MO),
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Patty
Murray (D-WA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) today sent
a letter to the General Accounting Office (GAO) requesting a review of the
Department of Defense’s treatment of service-related mental health
conditions affecting troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. (April 19, 2007) |
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| No, no, no and no was the response Tuesday from the Department of Veterans Affairs to four bills pending before Congress to reduce the 600,000-case backlog of veterans’ benefits claims. That means “no” to HR 67, sponsored by Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., that would allocate $25 million a year — about $1 for each living veteran — to improve veterans’ outreach programs, and would give grants to states to pay for education and training programs for state and local veterans’ agencies. (April 17, 2007) | |
| An Air Force veteran has filed a federal claim after an operation at a Veterans Administration hospital in which a healthy testicle was removed instead of a potentially cancerous one. (April 4, 2007) | |
| Five deaths in recent months at the nation’s largest Veterans Affairs medical complex are troubling and could be a further sign of a system badly in need of closer oversight, two members of Congress said. (April 3, 2007) | |
| A six-month investigation has uncovered multiple cases in which soldiers wounded in Iraq are suspiciously diagnosed as having a personality disorder, then prevented from collecting benefits. The conditions of their discharge have infuriated many in the military community, including the injured soldiers and their families, veterans' rights groups, even military officials required to process these dismissals. (Posted March 28, 2007) | |
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The question pending before a military review board at this big Army post
south of Tacoma is whether to grant Baumann a military disability pension
and healthcare or simply cut him a $8,000 check for his troubles. (March 21, 2007) |
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of Depleted Uranium |
Updated Literature Review of Depleted Uranium will hold a public meeting from 1:00 to 2:30 PM on Thursday, March 22. This meeting will be held in Room 101 at the Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 Fifth St., NW (between E and F St.), Washington, D.C. |
| Navy, VA scramble to cope with more wounded troops than anyone expected when the invasion of Iraq began in 2003. (March 19, 2007) | |
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A Harvard University professor recommends a radical overhaul that would
automatically pay disability compensation to any war veteran who applies. (March 13, 2007) |
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| New York Times March 8, 2007 Article | |
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Soldiers Share Troubling Stories Of Military Health Care Across U.S. (March 5, 2007) |
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| Everyone Is To Blame For The Walter Reed Scandal, Except Those Who Got The Story (March 4, 2007) | |
| (Feb. 23, 2007) | |
| Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey abruptly stepped down Friday as the Bush administration struggled to cope with the fallout from a scandal over substandard conditions for war-wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. (March 2, 2007) | |
| The Army said Thursday that the two-star general in charge of Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of command following disclosures about inadequate treatment of wounded soldiers. (March 1, 2007) | |
| Walter Reed hospital, once perceived as the “crown jewel of military medicine,” has become “something else entirely — a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients.” (Feb. 20, 2007) | |
dreamers to act out |
This is what is happening to MANY of our Gulf War Vets!! March 1, 2007 |
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Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they
have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their
rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the
media. “Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble
soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier
said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. (Feb. 28, 2007) |
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| Human experimentation by the United States military complex is nothing new. Declassified documents dating back six decades have exposed hundreds of questionable and illegal programs sponsored by the Department of Defense. ((2007) | |
| How well do we care for our wounded and impaired when they come home? (Feb. 27, 2007) | |
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A judge today ruled that a Lake Mary man may plead insanity for two slayings
-- beheading his wife and chasing down his 11-year-old son and killing the
boy with a sword while neighbors looked on. (Feb. 2007) |
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| The wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are stuck in holding companies awaiting hearings and decisions on whether they will continue their military service or be discharged, and if so, at what level of benefits — if any. (Feb. 20, 2007) | |
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On any given day, more than a dozen of the most severely wounded troops are
being treated by doctors, nurses and therapists at the James A. Haley VA
Medical Center, home to one of four polytrauma centers in the nation. Since
late 2001, nearly 3,500 troops have received care here. (Feb. 18, 2007) |
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Many veterans are still in need of treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic
decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty. (Feb. 18, 2007) |
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Department of Veterans Affairs doctors are furious over a recent decision by
the Pentagon to block their access to medical information needed to treat
severely injured troops arriving at VA hospitals from Iraq and Afghanistan. (Feb. 16, 2007) |
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| Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson has suspended activities at seven specialized research centers across the country after an unprotected computer hard drive disappeared from one of the facilities in Alabama last month. (Feb. 16, 2007) | |
| (Feb. 16, 2007) | |
| The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an investigation into a portable hard drive that went missing late last month from an Alabama medical facility and may contain personal data on as many as 48,000 veterans. (Feb. 5, 2007) | |
| The toll-free number for the Telephone Self-Assessment will be (877) 877-3647. (Jan. 29, 2007) | |
| The Supreme Court has granted the Justice Department a new extension, that they may be prepared to file their brief in the case of former Army Specialist Michael New. This is the government's second request for an extension of time. (Jan. 27, 2007) | |
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The Department of Veterans Affairs will pay a defense contractor millions
of dollars to help the agency improve data security after the theft last
year of a computer packed with personal information, company officials said
Wednesday. |
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| Italian soldiers are still dying following exposure to depleted uranium in the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, their relatives say. (Jan. 2007) | |
| The parents of a Tucson Marine who developed an extremely rare blood disease while serving in Iraq have agonized about the cause of his sudden illness, but have no answers. (Jan. 10, 2007) | |
| The Veterans Administration is in danger of collapsing under the burden of caring for the medical and psychological needs of returning U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan if it does not receive a huge infusion of cash, a new Harvard study warns. (Jan. 7, 2007) | |
| The flags are cut from rolls of yellow plastic tablecloth, then woven onto thin wire rods. Each is about as long as a man’s size 7 shoe, as wide as an outstretched hand. (Jan. 6, 2007) | |
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Since 2001, the military has discharged more than 22,000 service members
from its ranks for "personality disorder," a classification once referred to
as a "Section 8," according to the Department of Defense. (Jan. 2, 2007) |
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Study of nearly 2,000 veterans links symptoms of PTSD to heart disease (Jan 2, 2007) |
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"GENE BANK" |
The VA is collecting DNA from veterans and linking the information to their medical records. Who gets this information? Drug companies? Insurance companies? Private researchers? VA cannot guarantee the security or privacy of this information. (Dec. 28, 2006) |
| The Texas congressional delegation was instrumental in keeping the facility open. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and is a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, suggested Waco as a possible location for expanding the VA’s mental health research with a center of excellence. (Dec. 12, 2006) | |
| The results of a preliminary study suggest that memory deficits that are common among people with sleep apnea can improve when they are treated with positive airway pressure. (Dec. 11, 2006) | |
| Two U.S. senators called on the Pentagon yesterday to investigate the military's use of a largely experimental blood-coagulating drug that doctors inject into wounded troops to control bleeding but that has been linked to unexpected and potentially deadly blood clots. (Nov. 30, 2006) | |
| The use of depleted uranium (D.U.)—more properly nuclear waste—and other substances in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be ruled out as a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reported by U.S., Coalition, and NATO veterans. (Nov. 19, 2006) | |
Inflammatory But Rather Neurological: Presented at ACR- ARHP |
Joint pain in veterans with Gulf War syndrome appears to be a stress response similar to fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, rather than an inflammatory one, researchers reported here at the American College of Rheumatology - Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Scientific Meeting (ACR-ARHP). (Nov. 2006) |
| VaxGen said HHS has decided to extend the company's deadline for resolving the issue until Dec. 18. At stake is a contract potentially worth $1 billion. (Nov. 2006) | |
| The Pentagon refuses to clarify the exact effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors attribute the significant increase in cancer and birth defects in the region to the U.S. and British troops’ use of DU. (Nov. 2006) | |
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The 23-year-old Camas, Wash., man was found dead Friday morning in his room
at a military medical facility near San Diego, where he was undergoing
treatment and evaluation for post-traumatic stress disorder. (Nov. 15, 2006) |
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In their prayers at bedtime, the children ask God to "please let Daddy come
home alive" from Iraq and "keep the sand out of the treats we send him." (Nov. 2006) |
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| A recent report by AMVETS, a national veterans service organization representing all of the military branches, found that understaffing and underfunding makes it impossible for Veterans Affairs to properly serve veterans, even as a new group of veterans returns from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. | |
| (Oct. 2006) | |
| As the Pentagon prepares to resume mandatory anthrax shots, vaccines opponents — including lawyers, medical experts and veterans — gathered Saturday in Washington to discuss current cases and potential legal avenues for helping those who say they were harmed by the vaccine. (Oct. 2006) | |
| NOTE: Feel free to comment on this article-the link is at the bottom of the article. (Oct. 19, 2006) | |
| Injured soldiers returning from Iraq have brought back a superbug that has been linked with outbreaks in NHS hospitals where they have been treated, a health minister has confirmed. (Nov. 2006) | |
vaccinations |
In the next few weeks, the U.S. will again become the only nation in the world that forces its military personnel to take anthrax vaccine, which the DoD says is safe and effective. Email them at: anthraxvax@atpco.com ) with your comments, concerns and questions about the Pentagon’s mandatory program. (Oct. 2006) |
by Heather Wokusch |
The US Defense Department quietly announced on Monday that mandatory anthrax vaccinations would resume for military personnel and civilians deploying to 28 countries across the globe and even for some based in the US. (Oct. 18, 2006) |
budgets, data theft and the health problems affecting soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. |
Congressional investigators from the Government Accountability Office found that the VA underestimated the cost of caring for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan by billions of dollars. (Oct. 2006) |
| The number of veterans granted disability compensation, more than 100,000 to date, suggests that taxpayers have only begun to pay the long-term financial cost of the two conflicts. About 567,000 of the 1.5 million American troops who have served so far have been discharged. (Oct. 2006) | |
| A few troops returning from Iraq are bringing home Q fever, a zoonotic disease caused by the rickettsial pathogen Coxiella burnetii, according to military physicians. (Sept. 2006) | |
Anthrax Vaccine |
Sept. 13, 2006 |
| Concluding there is no single "Gulf War syndrome" afflicting thousands. This is a .pdf file. (Sept.2006) | |
| There is no evidence of a
'Gulf War' illness afflicting U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq and Kuwait in
the early 1990s, a federal advisory panel concluded Tuesday. (Sept. 12, 2006) |
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| Report by Institute of Medicine Is a Blow to Veterans Seeking Compensation. (Sept. 12, 2006) | |
| Links to many topics on the GulfWar | |
| (Sept. 10, 2006) | |
| (Sept. 10, 2006) | |
| As soldiers have died in displaying personal patriotism, the pay gap between soldiers and defense CEOs has exploded. (August 30, 2006) | |
| Rejecting his commanders' orders to kill Iraqi children, a British soldier has committed suicide after he was told he could be ordered to shoot dead alleged child suicide bombers in Iraq. (Aug. 26, 2006) | |
California Senate |
California veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces are one signature away from having mandated access to health screenings to determine their exposure to depleted uranium. (Aug. 25, 2006) |
| Veterans, using their
positive test results as evidence, have sued the U.S. Army, claiming
officials knew the hazards of depleted uranium, but concealed the risks. August 12, 2006 |
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| Study revisits stress disorder in Vietnam veterans; Fewer may have been victims. (Aug. 17, 2006) So they say!! | |
damage |
Significant genetic damage to the DNA of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange has been found in a study by Massey molecular scientists. Analysis of blood samples from 25 New Zealand veterans exposed to the toxic defoliant showed that the group had suffered genetic damage. (July 28, 2006) |
| The Army concluded insurgents killed two guardsmen. But papers released later confirmed they died at the hands of their Iraqi trainees. (July 30, 2006) | |
| For military widows, many of them young, stay-at-home mothers, the shock of losing a husband is often followed by the confounding task of untangling a collection of benefits from assorted bureaucracies. (June 27, 2006) | |
troops |
The Department of Veterans Affairs is on a pace to see nearly 20,000 new cases of post-combat stress this year among service members who've served in Iraq or Afghanistan, more than six times the number of cases that officials had expected. (June 19, 2006) |
| Sensitive information on millions of U.S. military personnel and veterans remains at grave risk because of weak security controls that have not yet been fixed, government investigators said Wednesday. (June 14, 2006) | |
| During a campaign stop in Bristol,
U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman said he may try to amend a defense spending bill
next week to add money for a study about the impact of depleted uranium
munitions on the health of veterans. "We need an independent study," the Connecticut Democrat said. (June 2006) |
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| Thousands of war veterans will lose the right to claim additional money for Gulf war syndrome because the Ministry of Defence has decided to ignore a landmark decision which ordered it to recognise the condition, the Guardian has learned. (June 13, 2006) | |
| A coalition of veterans' groups charged in a lawsuit Tuesday that their privacy rights were violated after thieves stole personal data on 26.5 million military personnel from a Veterans Affairs employee. (June 2006) | |
| More than 22,000 veterans who underwent prostate biopsies at veterans' hospitals across the country are being warned that improperly sterilized equipment may have exposed them to deadly viruses. (June 2006) | |
Veterans |
A bill which would allow veterans to
hire lawyers to represent them in their efforts to obtain federal benefits
from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been introduced by U.S.
Senators Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). Under
current law, all 24 million living veterans are prohibited from hiring a
lawyer to help them navigate the Veterans Affairs system. (May 2006) |
| The Veterans Affairs Department is
sending out letters to Illinois vets to address the state's 20-year history
of ranking at the bottom of the nation for disability benefits. a total of
326,000 letters — affects Illinois and five other states with low benefits:
Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. (May 2006) |
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| Nearly 900 Air Force officers to be let go due to overstaffing. (May 10, 2006) | |
| Pentagon takes recruiting to new heights -- Hit by one of its most difficult recruiting periods in decades, the Defense Department is paying United Airlines to show passengers a Pentagon-produced video touting military jobs. | |
| How the Veterans' Administration has
been shortchanging soldiers who come back wounded by Judith Coburn April 28, 2006 |
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| One group of Americans accustomed to big sacrifices - military veterans - soon will be asked to volunteer their DNA. (April 23, 2006) | |
Social Security Compensation |
Vets’ Commission Chair, General
Terry Scott wants to study if vets should get VA compensation and Social
Security disability at the same time with the aim of reducing benefits. In
an unconstitutional move, he asks Congress to interpret its own law so he
would have the power to launch study. (4/24/06) |
| A Diamond Bar company headed by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi could get fees exceeding $1 billion from the VA, much of it on contracts approved and amended while he ran the agency, records show. (4/23/06) | |
illness study--FINALLY APPROVED!! |
Now the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas will receive $15 million a year for five years and is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' designated Gulf War illness research center. Officials from the hospital and VA, which is funding the program, signed the formal partnership agreement Friday. (4/22/06) |
| Successive governments over the years have refused to recognize the existence of a single condition called Gulf War Syndrome and so the impasse continues. (4/20/06) | |
| The number of U.S. Army soldiers who
took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993,
despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides. (April 21, 2006) |
|
| Scientists have long puzzled over how an oddly shaped bacterium called mycoplasma pneumoniae is able to cause a wide variety of respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma flare-ups. (April 11, 2006) | |
the lives of soldiers wounded in Iraq |
"Bringing Back The Wounded" is a
three part series. (April 5, 2006) |
PTSD |
Maine veterans and their loved ones may want to mark their calendars for a coming presentation on post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 25, 2006 at the Senator Inn in Augusta. |
| Lawmakers prepare to abandon proposed fee increases on health care for some military retirees. (3/15/2006) | |
with PTSD could skyrocket |
The actual number of those who suffer from PTSD almost certainly is higher, veterans experts say, because the stigma attached to mental disorders sometimes keeps troops from acknowledging a problem or seeking treatment. Another factor that might keep reported cases deceptively low: PTSD frequently doesn't affect a person until long after he or she has suffered a traumatic experience. (Feb. 19, 2006) |
veterans with mental problems |
Dramatic figures have been released revealing that at least 1,333 servicemen and women - almost 1.5 per cent of those who served in the Iraq war - have returned from the Middle East with serious psychiatric problems. (Feb. 16, 2006) |
Candidacy for San José City Council |
Disabled combat veteran Dennis Kyne is taking on a new enemy - but this time it’s not on foreign soil and it’s not for the benefit of a few oil companies. This time around it’s to end political indifference, fiscal mismanagement and mayoral scandals that have plagued the city he loves. |
| Sue Riordon displays the medals her late husband (Terry Riordon) received for serving in the Gulf War. She wants to add the Liberation of Kuwait medal to her husbands collection however Ms. Riordon said she doesn’t have the medal because Canada won’t accept it. (Feb. 16, 2006) | |
Disturbing DVDs to Vets Request by David M. Bresnahan |
The American Gulf War veterans Association, in conjunction with The Power Hour Productions, is giving away 10,000 DVDs of the video documentary "Beyond Treason" to veterans who simply ask for them. According to the documentary, the Veterans Administration has determined that 250,000 troops from the first Gulf War are now permanently disabled, 15,000 are dead and over 425,000 are ill and slowly dying (Feb 9, 2006) |
NATIONAL TELEVISION AIRS 9-11 DOCUMENTARY |
Perhaps the most controversial documentary produced about the 9-11 attacks was recently aired on Australia's "TEN" television network and placed second in the ratings. |
passed away Jan. 21, 2006. |
At 10:40 PM Jan. 21, 2006, Wade lost his fight with cancer. He had all of his family & a very close friend with him at his last moments. He will always be remembered! Please go to the http://www.gulfwarvets.com bulletin board to read a little about Wade and his family and what they have endured. Wade was only 41 years old. |
| Who Can Fight for the Soldiers? (Jan. 22, 2006) | |
| The initial casualties were few. But they continue. They have drawn the attention of members of Congress, and now one Washington senator believes they demand further investigation. (Jan. 16, 2006) | |
| Nearly 2 million poor veterans or
their impoverished widows are likely missing out on as much as $22 billion a
year in pensions from the U.S. government, but the Department of Veterans
Affairs has had only limited success in finding them. (Dec. 22, 2005) |
|
| The US Court of Appeals has set a
date for oral arguments in the case of Michael G. New vs. Donald Rumsfeld,
et al (Dec. 13, 2005) |
|
FREIGHT |
There's controversy over how the military is transporting the bodies of service members killed overseas. (Dec. 9, 2005) |
Excellence |
Secretary R. James Nicholson today
announced that three locations – Waco, Texas; San Diego and Canandaigua, NY. (Dec. 8, 2005) |
Congress OKs $75 million for facility to consolidate research. |
Dallas: Congress OKs $75 million for facility to consolidate research. Study of Gulf War illness gets boost with $75 million allocation. Nov.19, 2005) |
| For 12 years between 1962 and 1974, the U.S. military conducted tests using live biological agents. Tugboats bobbing in the high seas off the Hawaiian Islands were sprayed with nerve gas and other agents and then were washed down with powerful decontaminants now suspected of being carcinogens. (Nov.13, 2005) | |
Veterans’ Illnesses Research |
In an effort to further answer medical questions involving veterans who served in the Gulf War, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved funding for 12 new research projects to better understand illnesses affecting some Gulf War veterans. Nov. 15, 2005 |
| Federal officials excluded recent animal studies on the effects of low doses of sarin nerve gas in deciding whether maladies Gulf War vets suffer could be related to such exposure, the head of a panel on the illnesses said Tuesday. Nov. 15, 2005 | |
by a few Gulf War Veterans! |
Check out the testimonies on the Gulf War Council Website! (Nov. 2005) |
| Unable to find extensive fraud, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday it would not launch a massive review of disability cases involving post-traumatic stress disorder. 11/11/05 | |
| The department’s change of mind, contained in a judgment by the war pensions appeal tribunal in London yesterday, will have far-reaching implications. At least 1,500 other Gulf War veterans will now be able to claim a war pension. (11/01/05) | |
| An ex-soldier has won a "landmark decision" to be awarded a disability pension for Gulf War Syndrome (GWS). (11/01/05) | |
DANGER |
Declassified..the secret MoD papers that reveal Govt WAS aware Gulf War jabs could poison our troops By Grant Hodgson. 10/23/05 |
| By Stewart Nusbaumer - A Must Read!!! (10/05) | |
AGAIN" by Larry Scott (10/05) |
by Larry Scott - All of these veterans have a common bond. They all suffer from PTSD. They all receive VA compensation. And, they all live in fear of losing the small amount of income their VA compensation offers. (10/05) |
| More than one in four U.S. troops have come home from the Iraq war with health problems that require medical or mental health treatment, according to the Pentagon's first detailed screening of service members leaving a war zone. (10/18/05) | |
| Pentagon efforts to screen troops for medical and psychological problems before and after they go to war — and in the months after they return home — could make the Iraq war veteran the most scrutinized fighter in American history. (10/18/05) | |
| The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle). (10/16/05) | |
| The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) is reviewing one-third of the cases of veterans who are receiving disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After conducting an internal study the VA believes it was too lenient in deciding which soldiers were eligible for PTSD benefits. 10/15/05 | |
| A recent outbreak of Acinetobacter
baumannii infections among patients at military medical facilities across
the country is presenting a treatment challenge for clinicians, adding to
the cost of medical care, and raising concerns that injured soldiers may be
importing rare bugs from overseas into U.S. hospitals. (Oct. 7, 2005) |
|
| The Defense Department is notifying members and veterans of units listed here who may have been exposed to nerve gas during the Persian Gulf War. | |
Affirms Soldier's Free-Speech Rights |
A spokesman for a law firm dedicated to the defense of civil liberties and human rights says his organization is pleased that a judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of an Air Force sergeant who was punished for speaking out about tainted anthrax vaccine. 9/28/05 |
Number of cases on rise |
Mother says Army, Veterans Administration failed her son, who committed suicide. (Sept. 25, 2005) |
| A doctor at Bay Pines VA Medical Center says he wasn't given enough time to evaluate patients. His superiors suspend him. (Sept. 6, 2005) | |
| Iraq War veterans return home with excruciating mental and physical ailments -- and the treatment they are able to receive is shoddy at best. (Aug. 29, 2005) | |
| Vietnam veterans still suffering from the trauma of their war experiences may have passed on their mental health disorders to their children, research suggests. (Aug. 28, 2005) | |
| Sgt. Nathan Whaley, an armored
vehicle launch bridge commander and squad leader, was shot in Iraq and while
receiving treatment he discovered that this was only the first part of a
long, bumpy road to recovery. Read: The Battle! August, 2005 |
|
| Popular activist-broadcaster, Joyce Riley, hits government 'right between the eyes' with powerful new documentary exposing cover-up of depleted uranium illnesses, leaving Gulf War troops sick and dying. (August 24, 2005 ) | |
| Gov. Jim Doyle designated Jan. 17 Gulf War Illness Recognition Day under legislation he signed Wednesday meant to highlight the mystery ailments that plagued many veterans who served in the 1991 conflict. (Aug. 2005) | |
| A decorated Marine accused of firing a shotgun at a crowd of club-goers pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder and other charges and was ordered to be evaluated at a state psychiatric hospital. (Aug. 2005) | |
| The U.S. government is reviewing 72,000 cases in which veterans have been diagnosed with severe PTSD, claiming that misdiagnosis and fraud have inflated the numbers. Outraged vets say the plan is a callous attempt to cut the costs of an increasingly expensive war. (Aug. 9, 2005) | |
| Setting the stage for bizarre behavior -- Army: Mental ills worsen after troops return - Thirty percent develop problems within four months. (Aug. 1, 2005) | |
| A common blood pressure drug could help people who have witnessed traumatic events, such as the London bombings, to block out their distressing memories. (Aug. 2005) | |
Combat Stress |
the Defense Department is working to improve the way it prevents, identifies and treats mental illness among troops who are serving or have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army officials told Congress July 27, 2005. |
Agents Study |
The Defense Department is again sending letters to thousands of Gulf War veterans exposed to low levels of chemical agents contained in munitions destroyed at a weapons depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq, in March 1991. (July 27, 2005) |
| The Pentagon may continue its voluntary anthrax vaccination program for about another six months, until Jan. 14. (July 25, 2005 article) | |
Vets |
Gulf War veterans exposed to chemical munitions at Khamisiyah, Iraq are nearly twice as likely as their unexposed peers from the same war to die from brain cancer, according to a report in the American Journal of Public Health. (July 2005) |
| For the first time, a study has found an increase in brain cancer deaths among Gulf War veterans who might have been exposed to the nerve agent sarin by the destruction of Iraqi weapons in 1991. (July 26, 2005) | |
Veterans |
All told, the veterans' medical services account would receive $23.3 billion for the budget year starting Oct. 1 — 16 percent more than current levels. (July 21, 2005) |
| AT LONG last, we are beginning to get to grips with chronic fatigue syndrome. (July 21, 2005) | |
| DoD is reaching out to Gulf War
veterans whose units may have been exposed to very low levels of chemical
agent resulting from the demolition of munitions at Khamisiyah, Iraq. (July 16, 2005) |
|
| The Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress that its health care costs grew faster than expected and left a $1 billion hole in its budget this year, lawmakers said Thursday. (July 2005) | |
| Louisiana became the first state in the nation to pass a bill to give to all military veterans returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom the right to be tested for depleted uranium (DU) contamination. The bill received unanimous bipartisan support, and Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco signed it into law on June 16. | |
| Gulf War Syndrome - Parasympathetic Nervous System at Risk |