STORM2K

Military To Screen Troops for War Illnesses
Health Screenings Called 'Unprecedented'

POSTED: 7:47 a.m. EDT June 3, 2003

The Pentagon has ordered health screenings for every soldier, sailor, Marine and airman who fought in the Iraq war. Within 30 days of their homecoming, every one will fill out a health questionnaire, review it with a health provider and give a blood sample.

It's being called an "unprecedented" effort to track the health of Americans just back from battle.

Returning troops will be asked if they developed any chronic cough, rashes or diarrhea. They will be asked to list possible exposures to pesticides, oil fires, or biological and chemical weapons. The questionnaire also asks whether they have had problems with depression or stress.


The military is hoping to avoid a repeat of the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, when thousands of veterans reported unexplained illnesses.

Investigator: Assume First Gulf War Soldiers Exposed To Nerve Gas

A congressional investigator said it should be assumed that all U.S. soldiers who served in the first Gulf War were exposed to nerve gases.

Investigator Keith Rhodes told a congressional hearing that's because there's no way to find out how many soldiers were actually exposed to the gases when chemical-laden weapons were destroyed in 1991.

Rhodes said Congress should direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to alter the assumptions regarding Gulf War syndrome to presume exposure.

Such an assumption could make hundreds of thousands of veterans of the 1991 war eligible for monthly disability checks and give them higher priority for health care at VA facilities.

The Defense Department has said about 100,000 troops from the first Gulf War were exposed to nerve gases. But it has also maintained that troops' exposure was minimal and that studies show no significant difference in the rate of illness between exposed and unexposed troops

That's the right thing to do!

My thoughts exactly.

Agree Stephanie

I agree as well. The least we can do is to own up to what they may have been exposed to and try and help them. The Vietnam Vets aren't as fortunate.

At least it seems like we're learning from our mistakes!