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Department of Veteran Affairs

Research Advisory Committee on 

Gulf War Illnesses

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June 7th, 2005:

 

To see where the RAC has made a impact, all you have to do is look 

at the VA Gulf War Fact Sheet of research. 

http://www.va.gov/pressrel/gwfs.htm 

http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/gwfs.html 

They both have not changed since April 2000, and neither have the 

programs. 

 

In October 2002 I suggested the RAC look into the AFIP repository to 

have the Gulf War samples cataloged for researchers to find. I had 

discussed this with the IOM in committee, DHSD in meetings, and 

have mentioned everywhere since 2001. The most recent response 

on this from the RAC was: 

Jimm Binns as of May 2004 

3 years to even get this suggested? 

 

During the Gulf War, USCENTCOM had done a medical survey of the 

troops in theatre. By December 1990 it was up to 69,875, with disease 

case reports. Ive asked the RAC to look into it, and it looks like they 

will sit on this for three years as they did the AFIP issue. DHSD, Centcom, 

NARA, and a list of other agencies have done everything possible not to 

respond to this request.

Centcom Medical Survey email to Jimm Binns 

 

Emails intercepted by others shows the committee doesn't work with 

outside interest, and has been severely manipulated by its members

for personal agendas. Which limits it to the political agendas of its board 

members. This is a large part of the reason the committee has failed to 

produce anything viable as it ignores outside sources in favor of its own. 

 

Things have become so intolerable that I had to write the Whitehouse on 

the failings of the Gulf War program. The Whitehouse responded it would 

contact VA on my behalf. So far as of May 24th 2005 Ive heard nothing 

from VA:

My letter to the Whitehouse 

Response letter from Whitehouse

 

RAC meetings now are little more than paying homage to DOD, and capitulating 

with the WRIISC, Chppem, Walter Reed, and the Research Working Group 

with complete indifference to veteran commentary. 

 

The end result was no new research, and a paltry $16,000,000 a year funding 

for mystery programs that no one can see. 

 

Veterans waited three years for cutting edge announcements as the "quality of 

life" clock ticked away. Instead of more public access and public programs, 

Gulf War medical research is in limbo - and the fallout of this is years of more 

waiting for some kind of recovery from this.

 

It starts back at Veteran Affair Medical Centers who are not sending veterans 

to the War Related Illness and Injury Study Clinic. With only seeing 60 nation 

wide in 3 years, hundreds of thousands of veterans are missing a chance to get 

more of the specific medical problems answered than through the VAMC traditional medicine.

 

38 Persian Gulf Registry exams happen every month just at one VAMC, and 

you would think that with that many coming in at least one would be forwarded 

that month. Instead, places like the Houston VAMC have sent one in 3 years.

 

So the problem starts with getting Gulf War veterans back in the door of the VAMC, and into the system. Then from there make programs accessible to them up front, and treat them with dignity to participate. From there the statistics pick up of reportable current ailments, and possible new avenues of research. Its about finding physical symptoms, not phone surveys with coached answers.

If the RAC can miss even this basic of a component, its not necessary to pick on the bigger problems such as the AFIP Gulf War tissue database they have spent 3 years overlooking. In fact, a long list of items that have been glossed over.

The RAC failed to do its job, and it earned itself a reputation as a information black hole. So rather than spell this out on this page with saved correspondence letter with them, its better to forget them and look to the future of something else in its place.

 

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