Iraq vets sickened by chemical weapons still await VA help: Report
- Hundreds were possibly exposed to chemical weapons in Iraq
- Children of some vets born with catastrophic conditions
- Some say the VA won’t recognize their medical issues
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)
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(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.
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, impaired motor function and feeding issues.
Peachey-Lubin said she has tried to get medical claims for chemical weapons exposure related to Hunter’s condition. She said she saw three doctors in 18 months. She also saw her veteran service officer talk about her belief that there is a direct line between her chemical weapons exposure and her son’s medical issues.
“I want this information in my files, so there is documentation,” she told Stars and Stripes. “The VA is confused by this. They look at me like I have a third eye. They are clueless on how to process a claim for a child with his kind of medical issues.” “No one wants to touch this or do anything about it. They pretty much distance themselves from the situation.”
Some on Capitol Hill are trying to help. Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., wrote a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough in July urging him to speed up the medical evaluation process for those who might be connected to chemical weapons exposure.
Sen. John Tester, D-Montana, introduced a to fund research on connections between toxic exposures and birth defects in the children of exposed veterans. The findings could be used to support benefits for children of exposed veterans who were born with serious birth defects, his office said.
