[Peace-discuss] more on effects of war

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Source:
http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=military&Story=5370927

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2002-12-27

Vets warn of risks to troops' health

By Todd Leskanic
Staff writer

Steve Robinson's phone rings all the time these days. Usually, the callers
are soldiers who want to know what they should do to prepare for chemical or
biological attacks if there is a war with Iraq.

He tells them to pay close attention to their surroundings, to note any
medications they're given and to keep careful medical records.

Robinson is a veteran of the Gulf War who spent 20 years in the Army. He
retired last year but is now an advocate for Gulf War vets as the executive
director of the National Gulf War Resource Center in Maryland.

Robinson gives his advice from experience. He has seen and heard many
stories
about Gulf War illness, the unexplained health problems that struck hundreds
of soldiers following their return from Desert Storm in 1991. But the
symptoms of the illnesses of Gulf War veterans are so varied that some have
been unable to demonstrate that the disorder is connected to their military
service.

With another possible war with Iraq looming, Robinson fears that mistakes
will be repeated from the first war.

"The guys who fight the next gulf war, they're going to be just as
unprepared
as we were," Robinson said.

Department of Defense officials could not be reached for comment.

Robinson said the military's equipment for fending off chemical agents
wasn't
effective in the Gulf War and will not work in another war.

"Nobody's talking about it because it's going to affect morale," he said. "I
know I would have a morale problem if I were in the military and my
equipment
didn't work. I don't know what to tell guys now that don't have the proper
equipment."

Robinson's opinion is echoed by other other veterans advocates and people
have fallen ill since their services in the Gulf War.

"I'm not sure there's any good protection against biological or chemical
warfare," said retired Maj. Gloria Nickerson, a Gulf War veteran who lives
in
Hoke County. "It's pretty hard to test. You wouldn't want to be the
subject."

Nickerson, who is 50, said she is one of the victims of Gulf War illness.
She
spent six weeks in Saudi Arabia in 1991. She was healthy then. But since her
return she has been diagnosed with diabetes and Hepatitis C. The illnesses
have kept her out of work, but she receives no compensation from the
Department of Defense.

"It's very depressing," she said. "I don't feel enthusiasm for pursuing the
disability claims. It's kind of hard to expect sick people to fight for
themselves."


Medical mystery

Nearly 700,000 men and women were sent to the Middle East as a part of
Operation Desert Storm.

Many were afflicted with various maladies after they returned home. Doctors
are still at a loss to explain the sicknesses, which range from rashes and
headaches to chronic fatigue and immune system problems.

Sick soldiers, their families and veterans advocates have suspected that
exposure to chemical weapons, oil field fires or depleted uranium caused the
mysterious illnesses. Medications and vaccines that were supposed to protect
them could also be the cause, they said.

Many are people like retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Wadzinski Jr.

Wadzinski's military records show he was vaccinated before his deployment
against a host of diseases and infectious agents, including anthrax and
botulism. He also took many pills the military provided as protection
against
nerve gas.

By the time he got home, however, Wadzinski had recurring rashes on his
arms,
chest and legs. Later, the headaches began, followed by chronic fatigue, and
joint and muscle aches.

Some doctors told him his problems were in his head, he said.

He took early retirement in 1994 after 18 years of service. He took a job as
an emergency services worker. Then, in December 1997, he learned his liver
was failing. A transplant saved his life, but he says he lives in constant
pain.

He has advice for the next wave of troops that could be headed to Iraq:
"Have
a good gas mask that's in good working order, and know how to use it. And
every time something happens, put it on. There is no such thing as a false
alarm."

The federal government has spent $213 million on 224 projects investigating
the cause of the illnesses. In October, the Department of Veterans Affairs
announced it will spend $20 million for research in fiscal 2004.


Compensation fight

For people like Sarah Overdorff, it's too late. Overdorff's son, John
O'Brien, died in 1998 at the age of 31. O'Brien was in the Navy reserves and
spent six months in the Middle East in 1990 and 1991. But he began having
health problems almost as soon as he returned home to Mars Hill. His hands
and legs would go numb, she said. He also had psychological and memory
problems. He died of a bacterial infection, something Overdorff said showed
that her son's immune system was compromised.

Overdorff said she and O'Brien's widow are still fighting for compensation.
Another war with Iraq should be a cause for concern, Overdorff said.

"We all agreed that if they have to do it, OK," she said. "But as far as
we're concerned, they're nowhere near ready because the gear is not ready
and
the training isn't ready. If they had done their homework and had followed
up
on it, they would be ready."

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 11,783 claims for
undiagnosed illnesses have been filed by Gulf War veterans since the war,
but
only 3,129 claims - about 26 percent - have been approved.

Soldiers are taxed with the job of proving their illnesses are connected to
their service in the Middle East. Robinson advises soldiers who might go off
to another war to keep detailed medical records and to pay attention to
their
surroundings at all times, something he said isn't easy.

"The problem is they put the burden of the proof on the soldiers," he said.
"A soldier can't be a journalist and an epidemiologist while he's fighting a
war and shooting bullets downrange."

David Autry, a spokesman for Disabled Veterans of America, said the
Department of Defense needs to recognize the sick veterans. He said another
wave of sickness from another war could tax a military health-care system
that's already strained.

"Historically, it seems to be a recurring problem that troops are exposed to
something and then don't find out about it until years later," he said. "We
hope things are different now. We hope the Department of Defense has learned
that lesson."

Staff writer Todd Leskanic can be reached at leskanict at fayettevillenc.com or
486-3572.