BAIJI, IRAQ – APRIL 28: Containers holding high explosives sit at a site suspected of housing chemical weapons April 28, 2003 after being discovered by U.S. troops in the outskirts of Baiji in northern Iraq. Preliminary tests done the previous day on the first of about a dozen 55 gallon drums also found at a site show that Sarin and mustard gas may be stored inside them. Samples taken from the barrels by a U.S. Army division team will provide more conclusive results available within 24 to 72 hours. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images) ( NewsNation ) — The Defense Department knows of about 400 Iraq war veterans who experienced “possible or probable” exposure to chemical weapons during their service.
But, according to some of those vets, they’re not getting the help they need, according to a report in Stars and Stripes.
“I am still fighting just to get recognized by the VA and we’re kind of getting nowhere,” said Istvan Gabor, a sergeant who worked at an Iraq weapons destruction site called Arlington Depot where abandoned arsenals were removed from bunkers and detonated.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has formed a new team to evaluate and offer treatment to those vets. Called VET-HOME, the team is expected to facilitate contact tracing, clinical exams for chemical weapons exposure and medical care for impacted veterans. African plant treats traumatic brain injuries in vets, study finds The VA said last week that it has granted 35 claims for disability benefits related to chemical weapons exposure in Iraq from 2003-2011. But it is not sharing the locations where those 400 vets were exposed.
Some of those vets report that they’re not the only ones suffering. Gabor says his son, who was conceived after he left the Army, was diagnosed with brittle bone disease at birth. He uses a wheelchair and has had hundreds of bone fractures.
Kendra Peachey-Lubin, a former private who joined the Army in April 2003, left the service when she became pregnant. Her son, Hunter, now 19, was born with a rare genetic disorder that causes intellectual disability, respiratory illnesses, muscle weakness, […]
Iraq vets sickened by chemical weapons still await VA help: Report
