GULF WAR ILLNESS- Affecting Veterans in the Ozarks

[Guest guest]

tapa-chemtrails , Aftermath News

<pjw56108> wrote:

 

 

Some good info on Joyce Riley's work with GWI Vets.

Also see her website and listen to the Power Hour

radio show. Its among the best for real information on

this subject.

 

 

Power Hour

http://www.thepowerhour.com/

 

 

 

 

 

GULF WAR ILLNESS- Affecting Veterans in the Ozarks

http://www.kolr10.com/global/story.asp?S=1260569 & nav=ORXLFaQz

 

 

 

GULF WAR ILLNESS- Affecting Veterans in the Ozarks

 

 

As the second gulf war comes to a close there's some

unfinished business from the first. Some say it's an

epidemic the government is ignoring and it's hurting

veterans right here in the Ozarks.

 

What is Gulf War Illness? And who is to blame?

 

A national organization based in Versailles, Missouri

is fighting for treatment for veterans with gulf war

illness. Joyce Riley is a gulf war veteran and nurse

who's devoted her life to fight for the treatment of

afflicted gulf war vets. She's turned her Ozarks home

into her headquarters. Now the cabin near Versailles

is one place sick veterans can turn for anecdotes,

answers and an advocate.

 

" If they were well there would be no reason for me to

do this, " said Joyce Riley, American Gulf War Veterans

Association. " We have a much sicker veteran population

than anyone realizes. We have hundreds of thousands of

sick gulf war veterans and no one's addressing the

real problem. "

 

Riley heads up the American Gulf War Veterans

Association, and says of the nearly 700,000 troops who

fought in gulf war one, 400,000 are ill and are being

hung out to dry.

 

" The VA says we cannot treat you for a disease the

Pentagon says doesn't exist... now that's the

problem, " she said.

 

" I've filed for disability three times and they keep

telling me I have good information but it's not what

they want, " said one veteran who preferred to remain

anonymous. This Springfield gulf war veteran we'll

call " John " says he spent seven months with the army

in the deserts of Iraq. Now he's overwhelmed with

disease and afraid if he shows his face he'll lose his

insurance.

 

It's the only thing left since he says the VA won't

help.

 

According to the VA hospital there's nothing wrong

with me, " he said.

 

But John has prostate cancer, bone cancer,

fibromyalgia, padgets disease, memory loss, joint pain

and insomnia.

 

" I was very healthy when I left... worked steel all

the time I was probably in the best health I ever was

but when I came home it started going downhill, " he

said.

 

John says he was downwind when American troops

destroyed iraqi weapons... he thinks whatever drifted

from the explosion is destroying his body.

 

He's not alone.

 

The American Gulf War Veterans Association points to a

video as proof us troops were unprotected and exposed.

 

 

" The Department of Defense does recognize that there

are some Gulf War Veterans who have mental or physical

symptoms that cannot be described or defined by a

medical diagnosis, " said Dr Michael Kilpatrick, with

the DOD.

 

It's Dr. Kilpatrick's job to make sure gulf war

veterans get the help they need from the government.

He says gulf war illness is a mystery; one the

military didn't cause but wants to rectify.

 

" We certainly believe we have an obligation to make it

right, " Kilpatrick said.

 

The government has done $300 million in studies on

gulf war one health issues but still the sick veterans

are left with few answers.

 

" Every study was either inconclusive or showed there's

no problem here... then why do we have all these sick

veterans? " Riley said.

 

For men like John, the feelings of abandonment and the

medical bills pile up, while time slips away.

 

" It took me twelve years to get like this... when I

die I'll still be fighting them. "

 

According to the American Gulf War Veterans

Association, U-S troops aren't the only ones getting

sick. It says 27 of the 27 countries involved in the

coalition have ill veterans.

 

Dr. Kilpatrick says his department realizes the red

tape obstacles and wants veterans to give it another

chance. There is a hotline at the DOD that will help

sick veterans connect with health care resources and

specialized clinics that deal with the gulf war

illness. You can also turn to Joyce Riley at the

American Gulf War Veterans Association in Versailles.

 

Check out the link to their website at the top right

portion of this screen.

 

You can also call the Department of Defense hotline at

1-800-497-6261.

 

 

 

 

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