[Peace-discuss] and who will protect the troops from DOD and VA?

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

House member says Pentagon breaking force health protection law
A DOD official says the law is being followed
By SUZANNE GAMBOA  Associated Press 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) The Department of Defense is not following a 1998 law that 
requires soldiers to get medical examinations before and after their 
deployment, a House member said Tuesday. A DOD official says the law is being 
followed. 

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., questioned Defense Department officials 
about why a two-page questionnaire was substituted for hands-on physical 
exams of troops before they were deployed for the war with Iraq. 

"I'm pretty clear when we voted on this law what that meant to me," said 
Shays, chairman of a government reform subcommittee. "I'm curious to know why 
we are not seeing it implemented." 

The Pentagon had the thousands of troops in the war with Iraq fill out 
questionnaires about their health status before deployment. The law passed in 
1998 was intended to provide "pictures" of the soldier's health before and 
after deployment. Witnesses said that the lack of that sort of information is 
one reason Gulf War veterans have been unable to get diagnoses or treatment 
for illnesses they've suffered since the war. 

Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, 
said the law called for a medical examination, which is not synonymous with a 
physical examination. 

"We believe we are following the law and we are doing it in a way that makes 
sense," Winkenwerder said. He said that as a physician he has found 
questioning relatively healthy people often yields more information than 
actual physicals. 

But Shays seemed unimpressed. "I hope we are not getting a play on words 
here," Shays said. 

Steve Robinson, National Gulf War Resource Center executive director, later 
testified that the Pentagon also was violating the law's requirement that 
blood samples be taken before deployment. He said the DOD is relying on serum 
collection for HIV testing, which could be 1 to 3 years old. He said soldiers 
who served in Afghanistan were sent home without any medical assessments 
after deployment. 

"In the military I served in there were consequences for failure to obey 
orders," Robinson said. "We were not allowed to interpret the intent of 
orders but rather to obey them implicitly." 

Dr. John Moxley III, who served on a panel that studied lessons from the Gulf 
War, said the Defense Department has made progress since the war, even if 
some recommendations have not been implemented. The progress was "nothing 
short of a miracle" because the Pentagon had a long way to go on protecting 
the health of troops, he said. 

Posted to the NGWRC Web 3/30/2003 8:45:48 AM


Pentagon Admits Failure to Follow New Law
National Gulf War Resource Center
David Goldstein  Kansas City Star 

 

After Gulf War II soldiers and Gulf War I veterans wrote Congress about the 
Department of Defense's current sloppy record keeping, Congress held a 
hearing where Gulf War I veterans, the Pentagon, and the Department of 
Veterans Affairs testified. The military now admits they are making the same 
mistakes now as they did during Gulf War I: not maintaining accurate or 
complete medical and exposure records ..

A top Pentagon health official conceded Tuesday that conducting physical 
examinations of troops after military deployments might help prevent a 
recurrence of gulf war illness. 

William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, also 
told a congressional hearing that the Pentagon's brief health questionnaire, 
which it plans to give to troops as a substitute for physical exams, might 
not be adequate. "I've already initiated an effort to reassess this survey to 
see if it collects all the information," he said. 

The hearing was before a House Government Reform subcommittee looking into 
the health care of deployed forces, and the lessons learned from the 1991 
Persian Gulf War. With about 300,000 troops now in the gulf or on their way, 
the military has been criticized recently for failing to follow a 1997 law 
that requires medical screenings of troops before and after deployment. 

The Kansas City Star reported this month that the military was conducting 
neither physical or mental examinations, nor blood sampling, as Congress 
required. "What's so difficult about all of this?" asked Rep. William 
Janklow, a South Dakota Republican. "We're talking about elementary data? 
What is so mysterious about giving everyone a physical exam?" Throughout most 
of the hearing, Winkenwerder insisted the Pentagon was doing the appropriate 
amount of medical testing. Winkenwerder said the questionnaire would provide 
a baseline for medical information about the troops. Certain answers could 
trigger more detailed questions, he said, adding that "hands-on" physical 
examinations provided limited value. He said that the blood samples from the 
troops were part of the military's standard test for HIV, and that samples 
older than a year would not be used. "We feel we are following the law and 
doing it in a way that makes sense," Winkenwerder said. 

Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican who leads the subcommittee 
and has been investigating gulf war illness for a decade, said Congress 
intended otherwise. "From my standpoint, you're not meeting the letter of the 
law, clearly you're not meeting the spirit of the law," Shays said. 

Gulf war illness became the collective name for a variety of unexplained 
illnesses that have plagued thousands of veterans. Over the years they have 
reported such ailments as skin rashes, headaches, loss of motor skills, 
memory loss, and equilibrium problems. Government agencies and medical 
experts, looking for causes, have investigated the malady. They have covered 
the gamut: the release of chemical agents when Iraq's stockpiles were burned 
after the war; materials used in military equipment to protect against such 
agents; even vaccines to guard against those deadly agents. Other potential 
culprits are pollution from burning oil wells, and desert parasites and 
diseases. Since no cause was ever established, veterans battled for years to 
get medical treatment and compensation from the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 

Stephen Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource 
Center, a nonprofit veterans service group, predicted that since the military 
was still not collecting the medical data, veterans of the current war would 
have just as much trouble. "The public law is being ignored," Robinson said, 
"thereby setting up mystery illnesses to present themselves after the war." 

To reach David Goldstein, Washington correspondent, call (202) 383-6105 or 
send email to dgoldstein at krwashington.com 

Posted to the NGWRC Web 3/27/2003 8:02:14 AM


Kerry Calls for Investigation into Department of Defense's Treatment of U.S. 
Troops


"What's the message we're sending to our troops around the world today and 
those prepared to fight in Iraq? . I intend to keep the pressure on until we 
have answers and the certainty that we're keeping faith with our troops," 
says Kerry

Thursday, March 6, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to reports that the Department of Defense (DOD) 
has failed to uphold a post-Gulf War law requiring it to develop and I Kerry 
Calls for Investigation into Department of Defense's Treatment of U.S. Troops 
implement a medical tracking system for service members deployed overseas, 
Senator John Kerry today called for an investigation of the DOD by the 
General Accounting Office (GAO). 

“To ensure that the Department of Defense is upholding its obligations to our 
troops, I am calling on the General Accounting Office to investigate,” said 
Kerry. “And I intend to keep the pressure on until we have answers and the 
certainty that we’re keeping faith with our troops.” 

On November 18, 1997, President Clinton signed into law Public Law 105-85, 
which required the DOD to develop and implement a medical tracking system for 
service members deployed overseas. The law required the DOD to perform 
medical examinations, before and after operational deployments, including “an 
assessment of mental health and the drawing of blood samples,” to, as the law 
puts it, “accurately record the medical condition of members before their 
deployment and any changes in their medical condition during the course of 
their deployment.” 

According to recent reports, however, troops heading for the Iraqi theater 
are not getting health screenings, especially blood sampling, as mandated by 
law. According to the Kansas City Star: “The law, which grew out of concern 
about unexplained illnesses that followed the 1991 gulf war, required that 
troops receive mental and medical examinations before and after deployment 
overseas. The tests are intended to provide clues in case the phenomenon 
known as gulf war syndrome should recur. Instead, the Pentagon requires only 
a brief, one-page questionnaire asking for general health-related 
information.” (Kansas City Star, March 5, 2003, page A-1) 

“These reports are extremely troubling. What’s the message we’re sending to 
our troops around the world today and those prepared to fight in Iraq? The 
message seems to be, ‘do your duty to country but your country won’t fulfill 
its duty to you if you’re lucky enough to return home.’ That’s not the 
America I know, and it’s not the America I want us to become. Those of us 
who’ve served in combat have a special understanding of the values at stake 
here and the importance of never breaking promises to those who may become 
our brothers in arms. 

“Vets fighting for vets is how we’ve made most gains for veterans from 
recognition of Agent Orange to treatment of Post Vietnam Stress Disorder. I 
am very mindful that this law was inspired by the efforts of a previous 
generation of Gulf War veterans whose illnesses came to be known collectively 
as Gulf War Illness and drafted in the best interest of our men and women in 
uniform. We must insist it is carried out for those veterans who may follow.” 

Kerry requested the investigation of DOD in a letter sent today to GAO. The 
text of the letter follows. 

-- 30 -- 

March 6, 2003 

Mr. David Walker Comptroller General The United States General Accounting 
Office 441 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20548 

Dear Mr. Walker: 

I write to request that the General Accounting Office examine Department of 
Defense (DOD) compliance with Public Law 105-85, Subtitle F, Sections 765 
through 767. 

On November 18, 1997, Public Law 105-85 was signed into law by President 
Clinton. Among its provisions are requirements that DOD develop and implement 
a medical tracking system for service members deployed overseas. The law 
requires DOD to perform medical examinations before and after operational 
deployments, including “an assessment of mental health and the drawing of 
blood samples,” to, as the law puts it, “accurately record the medical 
condition of members before their deployment and any changes in their medical 
condition during the course of their deployment.” 

Unfortunately, reports in recent weeks indicate that DOD may not be 
performing this responsibility to the letter of the law. These reports are 
troubling. The requirements to develop and implement a medical tracking 
system were based on lessons learned from the 1991 Persian Gulf War when lack 
of medical surveillance, incomplete medical records, and information on the 
location of specific units during particular events led to uncertainty about 
whether or not the illnesses of many veterans were service related. Any 
deficiencies in DOD’s execution of the law are particularly worrisome as we 
face the prospect of war in Iraq again. 

Given these concerns, I request that the General Accounting Office examine 
DOD compliance with the relevant provisions of Public Law 105-85, including 
the following specific issues: 

1. Public Law 105-85, Subtitle F, Section 765 called for improved medical 
tracking for members of the armed forces deployed overseas in contingency or 
combat operations, and along with section 766, called for improved medical 
record-keeping, including documentation of immunizations and receipt of 
investigational drugs. What is DOD doing to fulfill these legal obligations? 
Are current measures adequate to meet the requirement for medical 
surveillance and documentation established in the law? 

2. Section 767 required the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress by 
March 1, 1998 on plans “for collecting and maintaining information regarding 
the daily location of units of the Armed Forces, and to the extent 
practicable, individual members of such units, serving in a theater of 
operations during a contingency operation or combat operation.” Has DOD 
adopted such a plan? If so, has it been implemented at the unit level? 

I would welcome discussion with the appropriate members of your staff 
regarding other areas of this or other laws that may be germane to this 
issue. Please contact Jim Ludes of my staff (224-7024) to discuss this 
request. 

Sincerely, 


John Kerry 


 
Note to Kelly Brix, MD, R&D Department of Veterans Affairs – read the memo.
Recent story on Military Readies for Gulf War Illness - by Daniel DeNoon
Steve Robinson   

 

Kelly Brix mouthpiece for DoD claims “Precautions, Monitoring Already In 
Place for Iraq War Troops.

Old habits are hard to break and recently a former DoD employee who now works 
for the VA was quoted saying “Troops get individual checkups. After troops 
come home, they'll get another individual medical checkup -- even if they 
feel fine” 

The message Kelly was sending is that everything is ok. There is no need to 
worry, but her boss Secretary Anthony Principi sent a different message to 
DoD asking them to collect data on soldiers before, during and after the war. 

This brings us to an interesting question. Who does Kelly Brix work for? 

Her comments clearly parrot her former boss Dr Michael Kilpatrick whose 
organization is under the gun for poor implementation of the public laws 
designed to protect soldiers. 

Claiming to be an expert for the VA Kelley misinformed Mr. DeNoon stating 
that “There are many lessons that the VA and Department of Defense have 
learned since first Gulf War," Brix told WebMD. "Both agencies are taking 
preventive-medicine initiatives to protect the health of our troops more 
carefully than in the past. There have been a number of improvements." A few 
weeks before going overseas, Brix says, "We will have much more data to 
better understand what might be the cause of these Gulf War illnesses," 

What is most troubling is that her comments are flat out wrong. 

Congressional hearings to be held on March 25th 2003 will clearly show that 
public laws (specifically PL 105-85) designed to protect soldiers on the 
battlefield are being ignored, thereby setting the stage for mystery 
illnesses to again present themselves after a war with Iraq. Senators have 
called for GAO investigations. 

Why will there be a mystery? 

The only mystery we are aware of is will the Department obey public laws and 
collect the baseline pre and post deployment data. 

Recently the Institute of Medicine completed its review of Pesticides and 
Solvents use in the first Gulf War. One of the conclusions of the committee 
was that lack of data prevented the committee from linking exposures of the 
war to illnesses that veterans suffer from. As the IOM begins its next round 
of investigations into oil well fires and chemical compounds they are keenly 
aware that there is also a lack of data on these types of exposures. 

The NGWRC can safely predict that the IOM will reach the same conclusions 
because baseline data was never considered and post exposure data was never 
collected. 

It is important to note that people like Kelly Brix use the reports from the 
IOM to rule in or rule out service-connection for veteran’s illnesses. The 
IOM states that illnesses can certainly be linked to exposures however, no 
real meaningful data exist about the strength or intensity of exposures of 
the first Gulf War. So the IOM can’t link GW exposures with illness veterans 
suffer from. 

This is why the public law is so important. Having a researcher in the VA who 
clearly does not understand this fact will harm another generation of 
veterans. 

Veterans who have fought for treatment and care over the last 12 years can 
lay a significant amount of the blame at Kelly Brix’s feet. She worked hard 
to discredit veterans illnesses while in DoD by saying that exposures that 
veterans had were not a factor in their illnesses. For over a decade she has 
maintained her position in the face of mounting scientific evidence and now 
she has taken her ill will to the VA where it will harm veterans most. 

The knowledge that a person with Kelly’s mindset is now the assistant Chief 
of Research and Development for the Department of Veterans Affairs is surely 
bad news for all veterans. 

Other inaccuracies in this poorly researched article are that “We don’t know 
what happened to make people sick and there's no way to be sure it won't 
happen again”. 

The mistakes of 1991 are clearly documented and include poor medical record 
keeping, before, during, and after deployment. 

Lack of unit location information. 

Lack of environmental monitoring (i.e., oil well fire pollution). 

Lack of accurate chemical and biological agent monitoring. 

Lack of predictive analysis and consideration of downwind hazards resulting 
from bombing Iraqi CBW manufacture, storage, and forward deployment 
locations. 

Lack of knowledge on the effect and use of investigational new drugs and 
vaccines. 

Poor enforcement of and adherence to pesticides use and lack of training and 
exposure documentation for depleted uranium. 

There is no mystery to these mistakes. 

Matthew Hotopf, MD, PhD, senior researcher at the Gulf War Illnesses Research 
Unit of Guy's, King's, and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, London was quoted 
saying” Despite more than a decade of study, nobody knows what causes gulf 
war illness. There's no cure -- and no sure way to prevent it. 

We suggest he read the reams of scientific studies that counter his and 
Kelly’s position. Both doctors are relics of the hardcore group of people who 
believe stress was the reason why veterans are ill. 

So while Kelly Brix and Matthew Hotopf continue to have their collective 
heads up their “fourth point of contact” real science and credible research 
goes on all around them. Kelly has been part of the media campaign designed 
to sway public opinion against Gulf War veterans and their complaints of 
illness. She has consistently maintained that chemical/biological exposures, 
vaccines, new drugs, oil well fires and a multitude of other exposures were 
not factors in why veterans were sick. 

But, Science and credible studies have now caught up and eclipsed the denials 
of Brix and Hotopf and apparently they haven’t gotten the memo. 

Recently Deputy Undersecretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr Leo 
Mackay announced several important actions taken in response to recent 
reports on Gulf War Illnesses. 

First, recognizing new and emerging discoveries in research possibilities, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs budgeted $20 million in Fiscal Year 2004 
for research into Gulf War Illnesses. 

Second, the VA budgeted funds to create a Center of Excellence in medical 
imaging. Reflecting the importance of medical imaging in understanding Gulf 
War Illnesses and Chemical/Biological warfare. 

Third, the VA directed it’s R&D staff to designate a senior level employee to 
work with the Research Advisory Committee to explore ways to implement 
several recommendations made in the June report. 

The fact that Kelly Brix may be part of that effort is a matter for the VA 
Research Advisory Committee to address. 

Kelly needs to know that Deputy Secretary Mackay sent a message to 
researchers that Gulf War Illnesses is an area ripe for important 
discoveries. Not only to improve the health of veterans of the Gulf War, but 
to protect American troops and civilians in the future. 

We know there will never be a single conclusive causative agent in solving 
Gulf War Illnesses because there were multiple overlapping exposures and 
genetic differences that made some veterans more likely than others to become 
ill as a result of exposures. 

If the VA's gulf war illness expert is Kelley Brix, then all veterans are in 
a world of hurt because she is out of step with current science and the 
direction of the Department of Veterans Affairs under the leadership of 
Secretary Principi. 

Wake up Kelly and read the memo. 

Remarks of Honorable Leo S. Mackay, Jr., Ph.D. Deputy Secretary Department of 
Veterans Affairs 

October 28, 2002 

Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Jim , for you generous introduction. I am 
always pleased to come before this Committee. This august group is among the 
vanguard in turning around the stinging words of a 1997 report issued by the 
House of Representatives Government Oversight Committee. 

“[W]hen it comes to diagnosis, treatment, and research for Gulf War veterans, 
we find the Federal government too often has a tin ear, cold heart, and a 
closed mind.” 

Clearly, the past decade has not covered VA in glory. However, since taking 
office last year, this Administration –under Secretary Principi’s leadership 
– has begun to change that, perhaps deserved, Congressional perception. 

I say this in light of the fact of this advisory committee’s very existence 
… your mandate to direct and oversee research initiatives … and your strong, 
diverse, independent voices. 

I say this in light of VA’s decision to compensate and unconditionally care 
for veterans afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s disease. 

And I say this in light of VA’s move to cover undiagnosed illnesses stemming 
from service in the Gulf War. These are good decisions, right decisions. 

I look forward to other opportunities to make decisions that benefit 
veterans, now sick and suffering, as a result of their service to this 
Nation. 

Our research portfolio of 224 projects, supported by $213 million in 
Government funds, holds the promise of gaining medical advantage in the fight 
against these illnesses. Today, I am pleased to recognize a new milestone in 
the effort to help them. Today, we can move from concern for them, to hope 
for them. 

As your Committee’s interim report of June 25th pointed out, there is 
increasing objective evidence that a major category of Gulf War Illnesses is 
neurological in character. 

Some of you have been stating that for some time, and I applaud your 
persistence. However, it is important for us to recognize the contributions 
of other researchers, who are now building on and confirming your findings. 

In February, Dr. Han Kang and his colleagues here at VHA in Washington, 
reported a major epidemiological study demonstrating results consistent with 
neurological impairment in Gulf War veterans. 

Dr. Michael Weiner, of VA’s medical center in San Francisco, has used 
magnetic resonance spectroscopy to show that ill veterans have objective 
functional brain abnormalities. This small-scale study – replicating earlier 
work by private researchers – is now being expanded. 

And, just last month, Dr. Simon Wessely’s group in London reported in the 
British Medical Journal, that the ill health suffered by British Gulf War 
veterans cannot be explained completely by stress or other psychological 
disorders. 

Accordingly, today I am very pleased to announce several important actions 
taken in response to your Committee’s report. 

First, recognizing these new and emerging discoveries, the Department of 
Veterans Affairs has budgeted up to $20 million in Fiscal Year 2004 for 
research into Gulf War Illnesses and other military deployments. This figure 
is twice that spent by VA in any previous year. 

Second, we have also budgeted funds to create a Center of Excellence in 
medical imaging. It reflects the importance of medical imaging in 
understanding Gulf War Illnesses … and other medical conditions of concern to 
veterans from all eras. 

Third, we have directed our R&D staff to designate a senior level employee to 
work with the Research Advisory Committee to explore ways to implement 
several recommendations made in your June report. 

Specifically, we want to further explore the issues of treatment options and 
solicitations for research proposals that will address the neurological 
aspects of Gulf War Illnesses. 

By these three actions, VA intends to send a message to researchers. We want 
to underscore the fact that research into Gulf War Illnesses is an area ripe 
for important discoveries. That there is honor in this work. Not only to 
improve the health of veterans of the Gulf War, but to protect American 
troops and civilians in the future. And that there is money to support new 
hypotheses. We want the best researchers and the best ideas brought to bear 
on this long-standing problem. 

Most important, we want to send a message to veterans. That science is 
finally beginning to unravel the mysteries of Gulf War Illnesses. That this 
Administration is committed to pursuing new science, medical breakthroughs, 
and new treatments. And that, finally, there is reason for hope. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Committee for your 
leadership as we consider perspectives from all quarters. And through 
stepped-up research, make meaningful progress in the fight against this 
medical scourge. 

Posted to the NGWRC Web 3/23/2003 8:35:22 PM