TESTIMONY OFFERED TO THE HOUSE VA COMMITTEE
SUB-COMMITTEE HEALTH
January 24,2001
Montra D Nichols
Vice Chairman
National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition
Thank you, Mr Chairman and House Subcommittee members for inviting
our testimony today.
It has been 11 years since the Gulf War and Lessons should have been
learned that need to be
applied now and in the future.
We believe, that the first lesson learned has to do with fragmented
records in the theater of war.
Hopefully this issue is being given top priority. Medical records
were fragmented, lost, hand carried, and then attempts made much
later to find them and get them remarried up with reports and
individual records. This simply can not happen again. There has never
been a fully implemented regulation in regards to medical records
maintenance in a theater of war and how they are to be handled and
accounted for once the war is concluded. This must be reticified
immediately. A tracking system must be initiated and maintained and
quality control needs to be instituted.
The seond lesson learned has to do with the maintenance of shot and
records of preventive actions (pb) records and the recording of
vaccine reactions for the individual service member,
the individual's medical record, and for centralized record keeping.
An educational process and
a regulation must be implemented immediately. VAERS forms should be
part of the process so that oversight can be completed by the FDA.
There needs to be an independent agency permanently in place to
provide oversight to this critical issue.
The third lesson is that documentation of environmental exposures need to be done for each service member. A regulation needs to be written, and reviewed by outside experts, and then implemented immediately. The regulation needs to cover documentation of chemical alarms, preventive measures taken(PB, vaccines, etc), environmental exposure(pesticides, endemic diseases, smoke, fire, DU and other weapon components, fuel exposures,etc), and biological exposures (projected, verified, unresolved). The documentation is needed in theater not as an after thought or after action. The theater surgeon needs to be held accountable for the overall institution of this regulation and then shared responsibility with each unit commander and medical unit.
The fourth lesson has to do with adequate laboratory testing for each individual being activated, deployed, or being involved in the pre deployment stage(those that receive vaccinations in preparation for being deployed), and those that are involved post deployment (secondary exposures from returning equipment or personnel). Each group needs to be identified clearly. Each group needs a complete baseline of laboratory data and samples maintained for future reference. The laboratory testing needs to extend past the common standard physical exam to include baseline viral panels, immunological panels, blood clotting studies(HEMAX-ISSAC Panel).
The fifth lesson is to have a more open mind set for veterans of a
war whether deployed or not
in a wartime period. It should be standard to think ahead to the post
war needs. Each group of veterans should not have to suffer through
years of battles with differences of opinion on potential or real
exposures. There needs to be a more Proactive role played in
relationship to the veteran that bore the cost of battle. The trust
and faith in this nation has been impacted more than I believe the
Hill or DOD wants to acknowledge and this is directly related to the
history of the delay in recognizing veterans medical needs following
each conflict. It becomes another war for the veteran/veterans to
prove their medical problems and this war is against our own
government and this is WRONG and MUST FOREVER BE CHANGED NOW. The DOD
should not be allowed to stand between the servicemen and women and
their individual medical needs. Never again should the integrity and
honesty of your veterans be questioned. It belittles the veteran and
only adds to the problems of readjustment of the returning troop. It
demoralizes the past and present and future troops.
WE need a more proactive spirit in the VA. If a lab test is found
that helps identify a medical problem. Then the VA should be the
leader and embrace these new lab tests, instead of delaying potential
medical discoveries/treatments and languishing in endless research.
The majority of veterans receive no testing and no breakthroughs in
potential medical treatment that could help stabilize them and
possibly return them to good health. Endless battles are fought by
researchers and veterans against the old standard of refusal and
denial. Put a priority on lab work that leads
to treatment modalities.
We must respond by keeping the check book open when our veterans
return and need help.
We should not have to go and battle for funds for the post war period
for medical and compensation issues. This is simply poor planning and
not maintaining the trust you have with
each service member past, present, or future.
WE must fully implement that the benefit of the doubt goes to the
veteran now, in the future,
and in the past.
Our VA and military medicine must become a leader and not a follower. Laws need to be enacted to protect the whistle blower serviceman, commander, officer, doctors, and researchers. It has been the standard technique to deny, discredit, and malign those that step forward to help. These individuals are not enemies of the state, national security, or defense. These individuals have morals, ethics, and integrity for the freedoms we all hold so dear. The gulf war veterans know of civilian, military, VA doctors that have been harmed and intimidated for simply stepping forward to help the injured and affected veteran. We know of fellow service members/veterans of different ranks that have been order to stay quiet, not to speak up, and disciplined if they attempted to do so. The human rights and medical needs of the troops need to be a top priority immediately.
What is needed immediately for the gulf war veterans is immediate
access to definite high level
medical testing. This includes any lab test that might provide
answers on the medical PHYSICAL
state of the veteran. The laboratory tests that might directly lead
to treatment needs to be
implemented immediately without delay or debate. The Psychosomatic,
psychiatric labeling of
the gulf war veteran must be stopped. Psychiatric diagnosing is not
to be utilized as priority over
a complete physical examination and appropriate medical diagnosing.
This is setting bad standards and a blind monkey approach that will
hurt us as we look at the future of chemical and biological warfare.
WE must be the leader not the denial agent. The military personnel,
the veteran, and the public can handle any occurrence if dealt with
honestly instead of dealt with by the employment of RISK MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES. WE are in the year 2002 and there is not time for us to
repeat the mistakes of the past. The overall cost is immeasureable in
public confidence and delays of medical breakthroughs. WE must not
let the cost of medical needs block us from providing the best
medical care for our soldiers and veterans.
WE are the leader of the free world and we must also be the leader in dealing with Medical Patient Rights that apply to the military and veteran as much as to the civilian public. This has become very clear to the American public since September.
Show us that you have heard the veterans of all past conflicts and
have learned the lessons of
the past. Treat the medical cost of servicemembers and veterans in a
higher priority than spending
extended to foreign aid and military equipment and transportation.
Reevaluate and Reorder the
priorities. Do not rob peter to pay paul. Pay the bills that are past
due. Honor the committment
and contract made with your servicemembers and veterans.
WE must all come to the table together to resolve these issues of the
past and the future. That is
where America's true strength lies.
Thank you again for providing us this opportunity.
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