(Washington, D.C.) — “Today, following years of dedicated advocacy on behalf of tens of thousands of ill Gulf War veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America is honored to announce that the Department of War has enacted a significant change in its language regarding chemical weapons exposure during the Khamisiyah demolitions in March 1991,” said VVA National President Tom Burke. “Specifically, the DoW has officially updated its health.mil website to adopt the terminology ‘Likely exposed.’”
“This revision is of critical importance,” Burke pointed out. “The previous language used in notification letters was inaccurate and did not correspond with the conclusions of the official DoW investigation case narrative released in 2002. The communications issued by the DoW stated that servicemembers ‘may have been exposed,’ which is substantially weaker and introduces unnecessary ambiguity regarding the reality of exposure.”
VVA expresses its sincere appreciation that the DoW has taken corrective action after many years of persistent efforts to address this matter for affected Gulf War veterans. It is also encouraged that the VA Public Health webpage information now mirrors this terminology, establishing consistency across the sources veterans most often consult when trying to decipher exposure conditions decades after service.
“We at VVA remain steadfast in our commitment to our guiding principles and motto: ‘Never Again Will One Generation of Veterans Abandon Another,’” Burke said. “Gulf War veterans, many of whom are the sons and daughters of Vietnam veterans, lack official representation from any other major veteran service organization to ensure their needs and voices are heard by senior DoW or VA leadership. We wish to affirm that these veterans mattered after the war, and they continue to matter thirty-five years later. We will continue to press for accurate, consistent public guidance that materially improves veterans’ ability to seek proper care and credible answers.”
