Report confirms Gulf War illness, but much more must be done

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At last, vindication
Report confirms Gulf War illness, but much more must be done

By Denise Nichols

The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition applauds the Veterans’ Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness for the release of its thorough review of research into illnesses among veterans of Operation Desert Storm.  The coalition is heartened that the committee took on the job of finding answers for veterans based on scientific investigation. The committee’s work validates the complaints made by veterans for the past 17 years.

Although the committee focused on chemical exposure, its report does not rule out other effects that future work may show contributed to physical damage of Operation Desert Storm veterans.  Persian Gulf War veterans knew that something in their bodies was physically damaged. They have been saying this since November 1993, when the first congressional hearings occurred. Their family members have tried to hold their families together while waiting for answers from the government.

It has been exceedingly difficult for many of these veterans and their families who were told by their government that their problems were psychological. Many of these veterans have died, forgotten and misdiagnosed.

     

It is time that the government declassify all records that might provide more answers. This country owes it to the more than 600,000 service members who took part in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91.

This new report is on the right scientific track to find biomarkers and treatment possibilities for more debilitating conditions, following the Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to compensate not just Desert Storm veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s’ disease) but all veterans with this devastating diagnosis. VA also is covering Desert Storm veterans with brain cancer.

But how many other diagnoses and diseases have not been covered that Gulf War veterans are experiencing and dying from?

According to VA’s own data, 278,713 disability claims have been submitted from among the 696,842 service members who served in theater during the Gulf War — the highest postwar illness percentage ever seen.

After all, their exposures and medical answers might well lead the country and its civilian population to be better prepared to deal with health consequences that could occur if weapons of mass destruction were used inside the continental borders of our own country.

But much more needs to be done. Gulf War veterans still are seeking data on a variety of issues among their population, including:

• All postwar deaths, correlated by their unit location in theater, cause of death, and age at the time of death.
• Cancer occurrences.
• Autoimmune disorders.
• Cardiovascular and other body system diseases and diagnoses.
• Demylinating and osteoporosis disc degeneration.
• Esophageal disorders.

Gulf War veterans also want dental and visual exams to document their problems in these areas for further research, as well as a systematic study of children of Gulf War veterans who are diagnosed with autism.

In addition, all war data and research held by the military and VA that have not been published or reviewed should be released.
We are calling for VA and all health care professionals to be proactive in seeking answers.
We need all medical researchers to become fully involved to find biomarkers, screening tests and treatment options. We need the government to fully fund this effort.

We have waited 17 years, and too many of us are rapidly deteriorating and dying. Many went into their personal bunkers and just gave up, even though they knew the government was not being truthful.

It hurts to have to confront your own government over and over again. But we have turned the huge battleship off the false targets and have fired flares to check position on actual targets. Now we need the ammunition — funding — and the commitment of our government and its citizens to confront this issue openly and directly.

The National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition will listen to the needs of our veterans and launch new legislative initiatives to address their needs.  Will the new administration, Congress and VA respond?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Denise Nichols retired from the Air Force Reserve as a major and is vice chair of the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition.

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