from cnn: An extensive federal report released Monday concludes that roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.That illness is a condition now identified as the likely consequence of exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas.
The 452-page report states that "scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans."
The report, compiled by a panel of scientific experts and veterans serving on the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, fails to identify any cure for the malady.
It also notes that few veterans afflicted with Gulf War illness have recovered over time.
"Today's report brings to a close one of the darkest chapters in the legacy of the 1991 Gulf War," said Anthony Hardie, a member of the committee and a member of the advocacy group Veterans of Modern Warfare.
"This is a bittersweet victory, [because] this is what Gulf War veterans have been saying all along," Hardie said at a news conference in Washington. "Years were squandered by the federal government ... trying to disprove that anything could be wrong with Gulf War veterans."
The committee's report, titled "Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans," (7mb PDF) was officially presented Monday to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.
1 comment:
Yes we have Invisable disablities.
This Committee is asking for written comments for Veterans
This Committee is allowing Vets to speak before them, during Public Coment Sessions.
This Committee is allowing Vets to Teleconferece - hearing sessions by telephone.
Stress in NOT our problem? Silence is not an Option ! http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee
VA - Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Policy and Planning (008A1)
810 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20420
202-461-5758 Lelia P. Jackson, Policy Analyst ,lelia.jackson@va.gov
Additionally, the Committee will meet with a panel of Gulf War veterans who reside in the Baltimore area. Gulf War veterans living in the Baltimore area who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during 1990-1991 wishing to participate in the panel should contact Lelia Jackson
Public comments will be received on November 19, from 1 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. and on November 20, from 11:15 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Individuals wishing to speak must register not later than November 14 by contacting Ms. Jackson and by submitting 1-2 page summary of their comments for inclusion in the official record. Public comments will be limited to five minutes each. A sign-in sheet will be available each day. Members of the public may also submit written statements for the Committee's review Interested parties may also listen in by teleconferencing into the meeting. The toll-free teleconference line will be open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on November 19 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on November 20. To register for the teleconference, contact Ms. Jackson. Any member of the public seeking additional information should contact Laura O'Shea.
http://www.gulflink.org
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