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LEGION SAYS GULF WAR SYNDROME STORY NOT
BREAKING NEWS --
Calls reports misleading because veterans are
ill even if
the malady doesn't have an official name.
Story here...
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=72369
Story below:
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Gulf War Syndrome Findings Not Breaking News,
Says American Legion
To: National Desk
Contact: Ramona Joyce, 202-263-2982 or 202-445-1161 (cell), Joe March,
317-630-1253 or 317-748-1926 (cell) both of the American Legion
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "Recent media reports that Gulf
War Syndrome doesn't exist are misleading and masks the fact that even
though ongoing maladies being experienced by Gulf War veterans may not
have a scientific name they certainly do exist," said Paul A. Morin,
national commander of The American Legion.
"The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recent report on the health of Gulf
War veterans is basically a summary of existing peer- reviewed research
and the committee's findings. The most contentious, which some media are
just now reporting on, is the conclusion that there is no Gulf War
Syndrome," Morin said.
"This is not breaking news within the veterans community, but it does
warrant more explanation because of the misleading headlines."
The committee indicated that available research, collectively, indicated
there is no cluster of illnesses that could be attributed to a single
source and that there were no illnesses unique to those who were
deployed to the Persian Gulf during U.S. operations there in the early
1990s.
The same research again stated that Gulf War veterans are sicker than
other non-deployed veterans and the IOM committee could not determine a
reason for it, and that unexplained illnesses are the most prevalent
health outcome of service in the Gulf War.
The report also recommended that the Department of Veterans Affairs
provide surveillance for specific adverse health outcomes, such as
cancer, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, birth defects, adverse pregnancy
outcomes, post-deployment psychiatric illnesses.
Although this report does not provide any new recommendations that are
beneficial to 1991 Gulf War veterans, it is the second report
congressionally mandated to provide recommendations to the Secretary of
the VA on the health of Gulf War veterans to indicate that they are
sicker than their non-deployed counterparts.
"What is important, and has been well documented, is that Gulf War
veterans are sicker, even if no one can conclusively declare why this is
so," said Morin "The American Legion's priority on this issue is to make
sure additional funding and effective treatments are made available to
help alleviate any suffering service member's symptoms," he said.
The Legion also reinforced the call for benefits to be awarded for
illnesses that are found to be related to military service in the
Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
VA has recently dedicated up to $15 million to identify effective
treatments for ill Gulf War veterans. The American Legion again will
request that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs address the ailments that
the IOM have associated with symptoms identified in the report.
"If existing research has not been able to provide the VA with adequate
knowledge to effectively treat ill Gulf War veterans, then the VA needs
to ensure that finding effective treatments is made a top priority,"
said Morin
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Founded in 1919, the 2.7 million-member American Legion is the nation's
largest service organization for veterans of the U.S. armed forces,
including active duty, National Guard and Reserves, and their families.
A powerful voice for veterans in Washington, The American Legion drafted
the original GI Bill and was instrumental in establishing the agency
that today is the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Larry Scott
