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CASE NARRATIVES

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE REPORTS

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Updated: August 20th, 2009
Gulf War Registry ( Formerly Persian Gulf Registry )
 
As of September 2002 the combined programs of the VA and 
DoD Gulf War clinical evaluation programs had seen more than 
100,339 Gulf War veterans. The program that lead to this was both 
called the Persian Gulf Registry and the Clinical Comprehensive 
Evaluation Program. This was from the initial 697,000 troops that 
had deployed during Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm.
 
The program had three phases, and in the old days you would be 
sent to a Gulf War Referral Clinic if you were sick enough. That 
changed with Operation Iraqi Freedom, and now the whole issue
falls under Gulf War Era. So now the Persian Gulf Coordinator you 
would have walked into see in 1994 is now the Environmental Health 
Coordinator who would send you to the War Related Illness and 
Injury Clinic in Washington DC or East Orange, New Jersey. 
 
Quote from Deployment Health website:
The Department of Veterans Affairs Gulf War Registry offers a free, 
complete physical examination with basic laboratory studies to every 
veteran who served in the Gulf War. The VA has named a physician 
at every VA medical center to coordinate the special examination 
program, which elicits information about symptoms and exposures 
and directs baseline laboratory studies. The VA is also inviting 
spouses and children of Gulf War Veterans who have received a 
Registry examination to take advantage of the special health 
examinations. To schedule an examination you should contact the 
VA at 800-PGW-VETS (800-749-8387).
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/
 
The VA Persian Gulf War Health Examination Registry, was 
authorized in November 1992 by the “Persian Gulf War Veterans 
Health Status Act” (Public Law 102-585). 
 
The U.S. began deploying troops to the Gulf region in late 2002.  
As of May 19, 2004, among 139,778 veterans of OIF who have 
separated from active military duty, 15 percent (21,021) have 
sought health care from VA. 
 
VA must provide a GWR examination to veterans who request the 
examination and who served on active military duty in Southwest 
Asia during the GW which began in 1990, and continues to the 
present  {per 38 U.S.C. § 101(33)} including OIF. There is a new 
location for the GW Registry web page information. 
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/registry_exam.asp
 
Now this is where things get sticky. You walk into the lobby of a 
local Veteran Affairs Medical Center, and your having health 
problems you think are related to the war. You walk around the 
lobby, and its just full of veterans. What do you do, where do you 
go or ask questions? 
 
Its starts with contacting the Environmental Agents Coordinator at 
that facility. But, without signs or literature in the lobby - how do you 
find them. Well, they are now part of the Compensation and Pension 
exam room at that facility. Here are the phone list for them and the 
doctor who will perform the phase I exam:
Gulf War Coordinators ( update again July 2009 )
 
In the case of Iraqi Freedom troops, St. Louis may refer
you to a Iraqi Freedom Coordinator. Not all VAMC's will
have one, so you may very well be dealing with a standard
Environmental Health Coordinator or Primary Care clinician
in VHA handbook 1303.2 under Gulf War Registry.
 
You will be asked to fill out a 10-9009a (RS) Gulf War Registry form, 
that is at this location: 
Gulf War Codesheet 10-9009a 
 
The first examination is a phase I, so don't expect much from it.
The really sick vets didn't get far until they made into phase II,
and the more advanced labs explained in the Gulf War Manual:
VHA Handbook 1303.2:
Handbook - Gulf War Health Registry Program 
 
For those that are really sick, you should ask for the doctor to
send a referral to the WRIISC clinic.
http://www.va.gov/WRIISC-DC/
 
WRIISC provides a second opinion for veterans with difficult-
to-diagnose war-related illnesses and injuries. WRIISC-DC
provides an in-depth examination and evaluation of the medical
problems of combat veterans with debilitating symptoms that
remain unexplained after medical examinations by the local
VA medical center. Combat veterans with medically unexplained
illnesses may request a referral from their VA physician to
the center. This is the VHA manual of what needs to be done:
http://www.gulflink.org/gwr/WRIISCHandbook.pdf 
It has VA Form 10-0417 in it, your prescreen form now.
 
So far only a handful have made it in, but that will change as we
push this program to do what it was designed to do under
Public Law 105-368.
             
I finally had my WRIISC exam in April, and Dr. Li made promises
to me that the program was going to improve. Even though its
seen 58 veterans nation wide in three years, the WRIISC staff
wanted to improve their image. The exam went well, and everything
went smooth other than the ticklish point of the lobby still did not
reflect the changes that the WRIISC staff said they would correct
in their correspondence with me.
WRIISC response letter
 
Progress is on the horizon, we at DSBR got the WRIISC VHA
handbook, and VA Form 10-0417 posted publicly. The EA
Coordinators list updated to April 2005 an published publicly,
and the WRIISC program added to the VA EA, and Gulf War
web pages. WRIISC says they will work harder at outreach,
and correct not putting literature in the Washington DC lobby.
 
After two letters to the Whitehouse, I got back two
responses from Susan Mathers at VA on the program.
Neither answered my questions, of how to change the
problems in the program. So I had this information entered
into the record at the July 19th 2005 Government Reform
hearing that Susan testified at. Discussion is taking place
at the House and Senate on this, and will spell this out in 
more detail a little later.
 
Letter one:
My letter to the Whitehouse 
Response letter from Whitehouse
 
Letter two: 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulflink/message/8585
                                             
                                          Sincerely
                                                 Kirt P. Love
                                                 Director, DSBR