Pentagon Backtracks – Will Study Gulf War Syndrome

It took the harsh glare of publicity, but the Defense Department has belatedly decided to worry about an emergence of Gulf War Syndrome II.

 

By James P. Tucker Jr.

 

Following complaints by congressmen and the glare of publicity the Defense Department has changed course and will screen veterans of Gulf War II for a collection of physical ailments associated with the first invasion of Iraq.

On May 12, AFP reported on the controversy surrounding the Pentagon’s refusal to study blood from Gulf War vets despite funding for a program specifically allocated by Congress.

The Defense Department will begin taking blood samples from soldiers within 30 days of their return from deployment in Gulf War II, William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary for health, told The Washington Times.

Winkenwerder had been harshly and publicly criticized by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) for not responding to his January letter urging that the blood screening be conducted on soldiers prior to deployment. Reed said this was required under law and funds were available for the process.

Blood samples will be sent to the Defense Department’s serum repository and will be available for studies to determine whether Gulf II veterans develop long-term health problems similar to those that occurred after the 1991 invasion of Iraq.

The decision to screen the blood of returning soldiers followed growing criticism from congressmen and veterans groups who accused the Pentagon of doing too little to safeguard their health.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee dealing with veterans affairs, told Pentagon officials in March they were failing to comply with a law requiring the military to collect health data on troops both before and after deployment.

Gulf War Syndrome I was a collection of chronic health problems including muscle weakness, fatigue, skin rashes, memory loss and inability to concentrate that afflicted thousands of veterans.

Capt. Joyce Riley (retired), a nurse who served in Gulf War I, reports that more than 400,000 veterans of Gulf War I out of the 697,000 active duty service members and 180,000 National Guard who went to the Gulf have claimed chronic pain or illness. Some 30,000 veterans have required hospitalization. And 10,000 to 12,000 have already died.

Officials have been braced for Syndrome II.

The causes were unknown because “there was no data collected,” said Steve Robinson, a Gulf I veteran and head of the National Gulf War Research Center. “If there was, we would have been able to rule in and rule out why soldiers were getting ill.”

In his letter, also signed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Reed asked the Pentagon in January to use $1.5 million from a $50 million Pentagon discretionary fund to draw blood from soldiers before deployment so it could be compared with their blood samples taken after the invasion to help determine the causes of any illnesses. Gov. Donald Carceiri of Rhode Island also sent a letter in April to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking for the money.

While long overdue, the Pentagon action was viewed as a step in the right direction by critics.

“This is a positive step,” Shays said in a statement. “The 30-day serum sample will provide solid clinical and epidemiological information about the health of deployed forces. DoD appears to be listening to Congress.”

But Shays said there are still serious concerns about whether the Pentagon’s tracking of veterans’ health is adequate.

“Without reliable baseline data, a sick veteran of this war may face the same doubts and resistance as his or her Desert Storm compatriots that postwar illnesses were in fact caused by wartime exposures,” Shays said.