ptsd Gulf War Veterans 90-91 Forgotten/lost?

[allan]

Gulf War Veterans 90-91 Forgotten/Lost?

Posted on October 31, 2009 by dsnurse

Gulf War Veterans Forgotten in the US House of Representatives and US Senate?

Gulf War Veterans have been asking for Senate VA Committee Hearings or Joint House and Senate VA Committee Hearing in regards to the loss of a 75 million dollar research effort at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas led by DR Haley. Its supporters Ross Perot and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson have been strangely quiet. The major media has also chosen not to investigate and report this story.

Now after having the House VA Committee- Subcommittee scheduled for a third hearing on Gulf War Illness and Research on November 4, 2009. The announcement on the House VA subcommittee site on the internet that had been posted with no information on who was testifying is mysteriously removed from the website on Thursday.

WE have confirmed it was canceled. Some comment of possible reschedule. Despite calls to the subcommittee and emails over the last several weeks, not one of the staffers reply to emails or phone calls seeking further information.

When Chairman of the subcommittee, Representative Mitchell (D-5th district) AZ DC office was contacted no staffer has returned the call when we asked for further information on the hearing, witnesses, or reason for cancellation. WE either have a swine flu outbreak on the hill in DC or the only issue in town on the Hill is Health Care Reform. Gulf War Veterans 90-91 are being left out in the cold with no answers! Our answer is no to national health care and raise the question if the government can not answer and help the illl Gulf War Veterans how can they take care of legal immigrants or those civilians without insurance?

How can the government ignore Veterans that have been ill for 19 years? Is the national health care bill the way? WE also notice that Defense Appropriations bill has yet to come out of conference for final approval and to be sent to President for signature into Law! A number of appropriations bills are still awaiting action at the end of October when they should already be passed and signed. Are they holding the government as a hostage or what?

When the CFIDS Civilians have a Hard hitting Breaking Research Finding of a new Retrovirus that has the CDC, HHS, and Blood Safety Department in the RED HOT Spotlight and a landmark meeting the last two days re HHS CFIDS Advisory Committee, we wonder and reflect on their history over the last 20-30 years of denial. There are indeed similarities...we gulf war veterans were also told it was all in our heads, psychological, PTSD, psychosomatic, somatiform illness and regular doctors had no help or answers for us.

Well at least we have the VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness meeting in DC November 2-3. Maybe we will have company for that hearing from the politicians and staffers on the Hill. Where is the Change we thought President Obama would bring? Where is the transparency of the Democratic Party? Answers are needed urgently NOW!

http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9203.html

[john999]

Consider that the Korean War is almost totally forgotten. Vietnam is forgotten except as a negative as in " This war in Afghanistan is turning into another Vietnam". The Gulf War was such a total and quick victory. The vets were forgotten almost as fast as they returned home, except when they got sick years later.

[Quint7]

What is a shame is that we Gulf 1 vets are lumped in with todays OIF/OEF vets as "Southwest Aisa Vets" by everyone. So the focus ends up being on the vets of OIF/OEF since the VA doesn't want to end up with more issues regarding lack or treatment or disregard towards todays returning vets.

So the 500,000 Gulf 1 vets are forgotten. I notice it in my VFW magazines too. It's as though the military stopped existing between 1975-2001 from what I read. VFW forgets Panama, Grenada, Beirut,Kuwait, etc. and goes right from Vietnam to Iraq/Afghanistan. I would have thought that something like discovering the remains of the only MIA from Gulf 1 (pilot shot down, remains recently discovered) would rate a big writeup but instead get stuff like a article crying about Ivy League schools not offering ROTC. That sounds more like a political than Pro-Vet issue to me.

I am happy the older and younger vets are getting their due, but just like the Vietnam vets were written off in the 70's-80's we are being treated the same.

[Vync]

I'm a Gulf 1 era vet and this stuff really frustrates me (add to list of triggers, especially when I find out the Federal government is funding a puppet theater in Atlanta (http://www.myatltv.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=135275). If Abraham Lincoln was still alive today, this would not be happening.

[Quint7]

If Abe Lincoln were still alive I think we would be in BIG trouble! Like zombie type trouble!

Just kidding.

Ya know what gets me is that I did the "Persian Gulf Registry" a week after my enlistment ended and all VA is able to come up with is the blood test results and that was after building a telephone relationship with a very nice lady at the Los Angeles VA Hospital (I live in NY now). She said that they must have "lost" the other paperwork..... which would of course support my PTSD diagnosis going back to the end of my enlistment.

I have been asked many times to "take the registry exam" and when I tell them I did in 1994 they all look at me like I'm crazy, as in "We didn't go into Afghanistan until 2001 and Iraq til 2003, how could he have done it in 1994?"

I even used the fact that I have been receiving the "Persian Gulf Review" since 1994 as proof that I didn't abandone a claim but that VA didn't update their info on me.

[john999]

You know the vast majority of vets using the VAMC are Vietnam Era vets. The young guys don't use it. Just the sick, old and poor mostly. On entering the VAMC you get the Last Rights, a cane and a walker and the address of the closest VA cemetary.

[timetowinarace]

It is true, we are forgoten. It's been a year since GWI was declared "real". I've heard nothing since. There have been no changes.