Thailand Agent Orange Claim Awards ?

[rthomass]

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Benefits Administration

Washington, D.C. 20420

May 6, 2009

Director (00/21)

All VA Regional Offices and Centers Fast Letter 09-20

SUBJ: Developing for Evidence of Herbicide Exposure in Haas-Related Claims from

Veterans with Thailand Service during the Vietnam Era

Purpose

The enclosed document will serve as a substitute for an individual response from the Agent

Orange Mailbox (VAVBAWAS/CO/211/AGENTORANGE). When regional office

personnel receive claims based on herbicide exposure from veterans who served in

Thailand during the Vietnam era, they should place the enclosed document in the claims

folder rather than sending an inquiry to the Agent Orange Mailbox.

Background

While the Haas case was pending, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims stayed the

processing of certain disability claims based on herbicide exposure. The stay affected a

large number of veteran claimants with service in Thailand during the Vietnam era.

Thailand was a staging area for aircraft missions over Vietnam, and many veterans who

assisted with these missions received the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) for their support

of the war effort. Disability claims from those veterans who received the VSM for

Thailand service, but who did not set foot in the country of Vietnam, were placed under the

Haas stay. With the lifting of the stay, these claims require development and adjudication.

M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section C, Topic10, Block n, specifies that

claims based on herbicide exposure outside Vietnam require sending an e-mail inquiry to

the Agent Orange Mailbox for review of the Department of Defense (DoD) inventory

listing the herbicide use, testing, and storage sites. The inquiry may lead to evidence

supporting the claimed exposure. If the Agent Orange Mailbox inquiry cannot provide

probative evidence, the next step is sending an inquiry to the Army and Joint Services

Records Research Center (JSRRC). To facilitate a timely resolution of claims from

veterans with Thailand service, the Compensation and Pension Service, in conjunction

with DoD, has developed a document for inclusion in the claims file that will substitute for

an individual response from the Agent Orange Mailbox.

Page 2.

Director (00/21)

Regional Office Action

When developing herbicide-related disability claims from veterans with Thailand service

during the Vietnam era, regional offices will no longer send inquiries to the Agent Orange

Mailbox. Instead, a copy of the enclosed response document is placed in the veteran’s file.

This response document contains input from DoD and is intended to cover general claims

of exposure as well as a number of specific exposure claims. If the herbicide exposure

issue can be resolved based on this document, then no further development action is

necessary. If not, and sufficient information has been obtained from the veteran, send an

inquiry directly to JSRRC following its guidelines. If sufficient information cannot be

obtained from the veteran to meet JSRRC guidelines, produce a formal memo for the file

documenting efforts to obtain information, then forward the claim to the rating activity.

Questions

Questions about this fast letter should be e-mailed to:

VAVBAWAS/CO/211/AGENTORANGE

/S/

Bradley G. Mayes

Director

Compensation and Pension Service

Enclosure:

1. Memorandum for the Record: Herbicide use in Thailand during the Vietnam Era

See Kurt Priessman report on "HERBICIDE USE IN THAILAND" http://veteransinfo.tripod.com/AO%20Thaila...s/herbicide.pdf

[Pete53]

Good News I hope

[rthomass]

Good News I hope

Pete I can't quite figure it out. It almost seems they are leaning toward Pesumption for AO.....Thought at first Priessman report went with the fast letter but not sure. lawyer gave me both documents at the same time.....any one out there what the memorandum for the record says?

[Berta]

Kurt did 2 shows recently that are in the SVR archives at Stardust Radio-and surely this topic was covered. I was on vacation and missed them but hope to hear them today.

I am gathering from this Fast letter that, with ample proof of exposure, all Thailand AO claims should be adjudicated.

Any AO claim that had proof of AO exposure regardless of where (such as the Alaska AO award of last year )should have never been in the Haas Stay anyhow.

The DOD documentation Kurt used to succeed at a regional level in his Thailand AO claim involved DOD admission that AO spraying was done on numerous perimeters of military installations in Thailand.I dont have Kurt's documents handy but his MOS clearly put him on the perimeters of his base where the AO spraying had been done there.

The Alaska vet had proof of US Army usage of AO on part of the Alaskan pipeline when and where his MOS must have placed him.

I dont know how much faster this fast letter will generate any AO decision but any vet who has an AO presumptive disability and also bonafide proof of exposure to AO regardless of where-should be able to succeed on their claim.

The Alaska AO vet used an article from the Fairbanks Times in Alaska about the US Army's use of hericides along a specific part of the pipeline-forget what year- and other evidence to prove they used AO and that his MOS put him where they used it.

[carlie]

Kurt sent me this link -- tons of info here.

The folders at the bottom, have the most information on

Thailand agents blue and white.

http://tmai18.spaces.live.com/

Hope this helps a vet.

carlie

[kpriessman]

Friends,

I apologize, I do not often get here, my efforts are sometimes muddled by my many sticks in the fire.

The FAST Letter is not an effort for presumption, it is an effort to deny. Here is my response:

1. Attached you will find a excerpt of "The History of the US Department of Defense Programs for the Testing, Evaluation, and Storage of Tactical Herbicides", December 2006, by Mr. Alvin L. Young, the expert for AO used by the DOD and the DVA.

Please refer to the highlighted page in which Mr. Young clearly states that "the exception to these Directives was the development of the "Tactical Herbicides" sprayed in combat military operations in Vietnam, or by Department of State approval…" and that "Herbicides used in Operation RANCH HAND for defoliation and crop destruction projects, and by the US Army Chemical Corps for vegetation control on perimeters, cache sites, and similar militarily-important targets were classified as "Tactical Herbicides"…"

2. Attached you will find a copy of "Item 318, Letter: To Mrs. Cleary from Alvin L. Young Regarding Use of Herbicides in Southeast Asia" from the National Agriculture Library, Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Container List. Again Mr. Young is the expert for AO used by the DOD and the DVA. Please refer to the highlighted pages in which Mr. Young clearly states:

"The two herbicides - - known as , 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T - - are used extensively in most countries of both the free world and the communist bloc for selective control of undesirable vegetation. These chemicals are better for vegetation control than other compounds of a similar nature because they are not harmful to people, animals, soil or water…"

"The two chemicals, 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T, are now in regular use, particularly for weed control in rice paddies, other field and horticultural crops, and rangeland, in Asian countries such as Burma, Thailand, Philippines, Republic of China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

The herbicides are being used by the government of the Republic of Vietnam in the guerrilla warfare with the Viet Cong in order to increase visibility on the ground and from the air.

At low rates of application, the herbicides wither the leaves and cause them to fall from the plants, but jungle plants usually regrow in about 30 days. At higher rates of application, the herbicides will cause defoliation, kill the top growth of brush, plants and trees, and prevent regrowth for a year or more..."

"Scientists have long known that the herbicides 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T are not toxic to people or animals. The two chemicals are registered in the United States by the Department of Agriculture for use on food crops, in rivers and ponds, and on rangelands where livestock graze. They are available for purchase throughout the United States and are labeled nonpoisonous."

The document clearly does not differentiate between "tactical" and "commercial" herbicides contrary to FAST Letter 09-20 and there are no relevant or referenced documents which in fact make a distinction between the two, it concludes the two are one and the same and uses the term herbicides.

3. Attached you will find a copy of "USMACTHAI/J USMAGTHAI, Mission Policy on Base Defense", 1 Nov 69, from AFHRA FOIA 07-066, 21 Sept 07; please refer to Page 4. The document clearly states the requirement to obtain US Embassy (State Department) approval for "soil sterilization and/or defoliation operations". This document was purposely omitted from references in FAST Letter 09-20.

4. Attached you will find a excerpt of "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report - Base Defense in Thailand" (Declassified) from AFHRA FOIA 07-066, 21 Sept 07; please refer to Pages 58, 64, 66, 67, 68, and 75 for additional information on vegetation control at U-Tapao and other Thailand bases . The report clearly states that permission was obtained and received from the US Embassy (State Department) for use of herbicides.

Despite attempts to change procedures previously stated in M21-1MR, the fact remains that neither the Air Force Declassification Office nor Headquarters VBA Compensation & Pension Services has forwarded these documents to JSRRC. Additionally, FAST Letter 09-20 uses irrelevant documents, new "terms", and omits pertinent data that clearly links the necessity to get State Department permission to use tactical herbicides with the policies for use of herbicides in Thailand with the factual statements that permission was obtained from the State Department when used. The evidence is incontrovertible and provides positive evidence that Tactical Herbicides were used despite attempts to use selective information to negate it.

My efforts continue through appropriate channels in the hopes this farce might be stopped.

Sincerely,

Kurt Priessman

Item_00318_Letter_to_Mrs._Cleary_Highlighted.pdf

The_History_of_the_US_Department_of_Defense_Programs_for_the_Testing__Evaluation__and_Storage_of_Tactical_Herbicides_Excerpt.pdf

USMACTHAI_JUSMAGTHAI_Mission_Policy_on_Base_Defense.pdf

[Pete53]

Kurt:

Always nice to see your posts. Wish you were here more often as I think that you can really be helpful to Hadit Members.