This is a letter all GW vets who were in the exposure area are suppose to be getting from DOD but some have not. You may wish to note the phone numbers below for future reference.
July 24, 1997
Dear Gulf War Veteran:
I am sending this letter because we have determined that your unit was near
Khamisiyah, Iraq in
early March 1991. My purpose is to update you on our investigation of the
U.S. demolitions of
Iraqi weapons at Khamisiyah and what this may mean for you.
When rockets were destroyed in the pit area at Khamisiyah on March 10, 1991,
the nerve agents
sarin and cyclosarin may have been released into the air. If you were with your
unit at this time,
you may have been in an area where exposure to a very low level of nerve agents
was possible.
However, our analysis shows that the exposure levels would have been too low
to activate
chemical alarms or to cause any symptoms at the time.
Although little is known about the long-term effects from a brief, low level
exposure to
nerve agents, the current medical evidence indicates that long-term health problems
are unlikely. Because the scientific evidence is limited, the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are
committed to gaining a better understanding of the potential health
effects of brief, low level nerve agent exposures, and they have
funded several projects to learn more about them.
If you have health concerns which might be related to your Gulf War service,
you are encouraged to enroll in the DoD Comprehensive Clinical
Evaluation Program by calling 1-800-796-9699, or the Department of
Veterans Affairs Persian Gulf Registry, 1-800-749-8387. Because there
are many possible medical reasons for most symptoms, if you have
health concerns you are encouraged to request a medical evaluation.
If you have already received a registry examination and you continue
to have health concerns, you should contact your closest military
treatment facility or VA medical center to schedule a follow-up
appointment. Please feel free to share this letter with your personal
physician. If you are healthy and not experiencing any symptoms,
there is no need for you to seek medical attention.
The health of Gulf War veterans is extremely important to us. The DoD and VA
are committed to providing the best possible medical care to all
veterans and equally committed to gaining a full understanding of all
the possible health effects of service during the war. As we learn
more about the events during the Gulf War, we will continue to keep
veterans informed.
Sincerely,
Bernard Rostker
Enclosure:
KHAMISIYAH FACT SHEET-JULY 1997
Background
After the 1991 Gulf War, American troops destroyed a large munitions depot in
southern Iraq at a place called Khamisiyah. After the war, we learned that some Iraqi rockets
stored at the depot contained a mixture of the chemical nerve agents sarin and
cyclosarin.
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