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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Defence bill measure a critical first step

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Reshma Kirpalani and Tara Copp -


A massive defence bill passed by Congress on Friday includes provisions that would require government studies of military toxic exposure among fighter pilots and some of the first forces that deployed after the September 11, 2001, (9/11) terrorist attacks.


Veterans see the approval of those provisions as a significant step that they hope will lead to a recognition by the US government that their illnesses were tied to that service. The broader legislation faces a veto threat from President Donald Trump due to other provisions. But veterans’ advocates hope Congress will override any veto as they also begin working with the incoming Biden administration to keep this year’s momentum on addressing toxic exposure going.


The final version of the $740-billion fiscal year 2021 National Defence Authorisation Act covers military pay and benefits and also funds warships, submarines, missiles and military aircraft. One provision would require government studies to determine whether veterans who served at a base in Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan, or K2, after 9/11 developed illnesses from exposure to radiation, chemical weapons and other toxins that were in the ground.


Another would require the Defence Department, working alongside the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health, to conduct a study on whether military pilots face higher levels of cancer.


“It’s a victory for sure, because we now have legislation that codifies K2. It’s official recognition by the US government for the first time for K2 and Uzbekistan veterans,” said retired Army Staff Sgt Mark Jackson, a K2 veteran and cancer survivor.


“It is a great start, having gone from nothing, and having no recognition whatsoever.” But both provisions fall short of what the veterans wanted, which is for the Department of Veterans Affairs to add their illnesses as presumptive conditions tied to their military service, so when those veterans go in for medical care it won’t be an uphill battle to get cancer screenings or treatment at VA facilities, and have the cost covered by the VA.


Jackson was informed by his oncologist last week that new lab tests showed he was facing a new cancer diagnosis, but more tests were needed to identify what type of cancer had returned.


“Every time they tell us they need another study or ‘good science’ I am going to look at this picture,” Jackson said in a text to McClatchy of a photo of him receiving an IV infusion of iron serum last Wednesday, a first step to address recurring anaemia before he can begin treatment.


The legislation also includes an expansion of the number of illnesses covered at the Department of Veterans Affairs for Agent Orange exposure. Two other provisions on burn pit exposure would help veterans who inhaled toxic particles from the military’s open-air trash fires and another would increase access to a new electronic record of toxic exposure the VA is now keeping for veterans.


Several veterans who led the effort to make toxic exposure a priority during this Congress were again battling illness as the bill made its way to final passage. — Reuters


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