That leaves 21,000 gallons of herbicide unaccounted for with their last known location in Thailand. Vietnam - Wikipedia VA depends on DOD to provide information regarding in-service environmental exposure for disability claims based on exposure to herbicides outside of Vietnam, Wilkie said in a statement. This information is made available for educational purposes only and to provide general information and a general understanding of the law. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. The first presumption is if you stepped foot in Vietnam, you were exposed to Agent Orange. The Department of Veterans Affairs lists these conditions as presumptive. This matches documentation indicating herbicide use at and after that time. However, these stayed claims did not involve claims due to herbicide exposure around Thailand bases or their perimeters. This reporting directly corresponds to other Air Force archives documents from 1973 showing that the Civil Engineers had developed a standard operating procedure for the use of herbicide on Takhli to avoid misuse. Phong's silver medal was a disappointing result for himself but was still a good sign for his coaches, who believed he would lift Vit Nam to the top podium again at the next Games. In its original conception, the Memorandum for the Record was never intended to apply to all Thailand exposure claims. Health Care and Agent Orange Registry Health Exam: 1-877-222-8387 (Ask to speak to the Environmental Health Coordinator or Patient Care Advocate) Compensation and Other Benefits: 1 800 827-1000. Their dependents and survivors may also be eligible for benefits. The United States Veterans Administration (VA) has announced that, like those who served in Vietnam, veterans who served in Thailand maybe be entitled to VA benefits. 1116 is a dual-function statute titled:Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents; presumption of exposure for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam.. Those who had served at one of the military bases in Thailand listed in the below URL and the locations at those bases identified, and experiencing any of the ailments considered possibly caused by Agent Orange (including prostate cancer) may now be eligible for VA treatment and compensation. Ive heard that Agent Orange wasnt used there and Ive heard that it was. . Eligibility for health care He wrote in a sworn statement that he was twice assigned the task of diagnosing and repairing a Buffalo Turbine fogger/sprayer unit which sprayed the base consistently for insects and defoliated the base perimeter and other areas on the base. He witnessed drums with orange, blue, or white bands being stored in a shed at the AGE facility surrounded by defoliated soil. In Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Due to the concerns over the integrity of studies completed for VA, the scientific community created a unified response rebutting the reasoning behind VAs policies. Copyright 1999-2021 Malecare, Inc | All Rights Reserved, Important Agent Orange Information for Those Who Served in Thailand. The Thailand base perimeter policy was not issued until May 2010, when it was introduced in a Compensation & Pension Service Bulletin. Regarding base defense, the survey stated: A continuing vegetation control program is required for cleared areas under and between perimeter security fences. Both Vietnam and Thailand were engagement zones for deployed military personnel, and both countries had similar Rules of Engagement (Rules). In researching I have come across several fellow marines that I served dead from cancers and others having similar problems I am curently appling for benefits for these problems. Veterans who served in Vietnam, the Korean demilitarized zone or other areas where Agent Orange was sprayed may be eligible. This statement indicates that misuse of herbicides by service members led to the necessity of establishing an SOP. Vietnam veterans and those who served in certain other locations (such as Thailand or the Korean Demilitarized Zone) and were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides may be eligible for 3 kinds of benefits. Operation Rose Garden - RTAFB Nam Phong You and your brothers should not have to fight this battle. Agent Orange was a weed killer sprayed on the jungles of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover and crops for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. Similarities between the Rules in Thailand and Vietnam were also necessary due to Operation RANCH HAND activities in Thailand. From 1965 to 1968, 5,727 Communist insurgents in Thailand were either killed, arrested, or surrendered. . Aircraft used for RANCH HAND, UC-123Ks, launched from airbases in Thailand including Ubon, Udorn, NKP, and Takhli on numerous occasions to conduct missions against targets in Vietnam and Laos. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. The name came. Until 2009, VA made no distinction between commercial and tactical herbicides. 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In October 2020, the VA denied Xenia resident and Thailand veteran Paul Skinner compensation for what Skinner believed was Agent Orange exposure, with the VA informing Skinner in a letter: "Your personnel records still fail to show that during your duties you were exposed to Agent Orange or tactical herbicides while performing daily duty Restricting service-connected benefits for our men and women assigned to certain locations and career fields in Thailand during their military service is undermining the commitment we made to veterans. The district office and the train station are about 7 km east of the main settlement, Ban Nam Phong. The area between the fences is intended to be used as a no-mans land with additional detection and deterrent devices such as trip flares, TSSE, tangle-foot, etc. National Archives records also reveal that herbicides were delivered to Takhli on April 7, 1973. Vietnam (Vietnamese: Vit Nam, [vt nm] (), commonly abbreviated VN), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country in Southeast Asia.It is located at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of 331,212 square kilometres (127,882 sq mi) and population of 99 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. Worked in While there is a proposed legislative fix, Rhodesand his fellow veterans who served in Thailand and suffer from Agent Orange-related illnesses arecontinuing to press Congress to take action to update the presumption policy through the orange envelope letter-writing campaign. Veterans who served in Thailand during the Vietnam War fight for VA kms.) Thailand veterans harmed by Agent Orange hope Congress will hear them Task Force Delta Overview - RTAFB Nam Phong Yet, VA has used this Memorandum and the so-called distinction between commercial and tactical herbicides to deny thousands of herbicide-related disability claims by Vietnam-era Thailand veterans. TASK FORCE DELTA MCAS Nam Phong, Thailand 1972 ~ 1973 "We Never Promised You A Rose Garden" Namphong.vet is a Vietnam War Educational Archive All content herein is copyrighted by the original source and presented under the "fair use" provisions of US Code Title 17 in effect at the time of publication, and shall not be used for commercial purposes. These cookies are essential so that you can move around the website and use its features. This legislation expands benefits to veterans who served aboard ships off the coast of Vietnam. Why are veterans from Nam Phong told no agent orange exposure there. Click here to sign up. This coincides with documentation demonstrating that Major George Norwood addressed the need for strong vegetation control and that the Base Civil Engineers had been requested specifically for vegetation control on Udorn in 1971. A substance containing any of these five compounds is an herbicide agent as a matter of law, regardless of its purpose or name brand. For the last 20 years, Nam Phuong restaurant has transformed itself originally from a small restaurant into a well-known restaurant today in the north-east region of the U.S. At Nam Phuong, we know how important our guests are, and we always strike our very best to make our guests come back time after time. The stories vary on pretty much the same theme: ' someone ' (officer, etc.) Thailand veteran Wayne Hogstad was stationed at NKP from April 1967 to April 1968 and was assigned to the police squadron. But one who stepped off an aircraft for 10 seconds gets boot on the ground. Moreover, those members assigned to disperse herbicides by truck-mounted or backpack systems would certainly have been exposed. ; Delta des Roten Flusses: Diese fruchtbare Gegend rund um die Hauptstadt Hanoi (H Ni) erstreckt sich bis zum Golf . Veterans who served in Vietnam, Korean demilitarized zone or other areas where Agent Orange was sprayed may be eligible. He recognized in a draft report that the number of military personnel exposed is unknown because most military bases had vehicle-mounted and back-spray units available for use in routine vegetation control. Dr. Youngs documents indicate that herbicides, including Agent Orange and its counterparts, were used for routine vegetation control programs. I have also been denied compensation for herbicide exposure and am awaiting a hearing. She enjoys working with the Veteran population and keeping them up to date with information they need the most. U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand, 1972 The National Archives return to top I was part of the mobile construction battalion 5 (mcb 5) seabees that built the rose garden. The report recognizes the heightened risk of attacks directed against air bases because they presented the enemy with a concentration of lucrative targets. Additionally, the report states: Thailand is going through the same type of growing pains experienced in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), but the knowledge and experience gained in the development of air base defense in RVN permit a more rapid evolution in Thailand. Thus, similar tactics and procedures in base defense were used in both Thailand and Vietnam because the bases were facing the same threat with similar resources. Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation I am fighting the VA now. For instance, which pages you go to most. Before the PACT Act was enacted on August 10, 2022, VAs application of its Thailand perimeter policy only conceded exposure for service members with a security-related military occupational specialty (MOS), such as military police, who conducted foot patrols at the perimeter. Photographs of Ubons perimeter demonstrate it was pushed back and that there was a lack of foliage between the old and new perimeter. Army Special Ops Command welcomes first female command sergeant major. This notion is further strengthened by the fact that the civil engineers developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) specifically for the disposal of herbicides due to fear that indiscriminate use of herbicide could be a source of pollution. The expansion of Agent Orange exposure locations came as a result of Public Law 116-23, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. Our message to VA would be that they should grant benefits if a veteran has any evidence demonstrating that the spraying may have occurred, and that would be if there is an old list where DoD confirmed that there was storage or spraying, Gallucci said. Previously, only veterans who were exposed to the dangerous weed killer while serving in-country Vietnam were eligible for any VA benefits. I have had skin cancer at least 15 times, prostate cancer, high BP, neuropathy in my feet. I have photographs which I took of the area which demonstrate the extensive defoliation of the area. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) Directive 525-1 (1966) highlighted the procedure for requesting aerial spray, power spray, and hand spray in Vietnam. It also does not include any places where the U.S. Department of Agriculture, academia, chemical companies or others tested or stored the chemicals if service members werent involved, nor areas where trained DoD personnel engaged in vegetation management and control in accordance with the DoD Pest Management Program. Ill let you know how it goes. Houston, TX: 2925 Richmond Ave, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77098 Buddy statements from anyone who served with Special Forces at Nam Phong would be helpful. If you have kept in touch with any former comrades-in-arms from those bases who did not make the military a career, or their spouses if they have already died, you may To learn more about current Agent Orange presumptions for Thailand, please visit CCKs PACT Act breakdown. In the early 1960s, military personnel had access to Agents Pink, Purple, and Green, most of which were undiluted versions of 2,4,5-T and therefore contained even higher levels of TCDD than Agent Orange. Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 RANCH HAND was also not prohibited from herbicide spray missions in Thailand. Agent Orange was made up of 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T. Its contaminant TCDD is a highly toxic byproduct of producing Agent Orange. These attacks resulted in both U.S. and enemy causalities. Exposure to these herbicides was later determined to pose a health risk to service members. These days, there are fewer and fewer letters delivered to the Capitol by the U.S. Disabled Veterans Sign up for a Career Change. We owe you more than you are getting. Because of ongoing security concerns, Air Force leadership ordered the use of additional herbicides. The Nam Phong district is surrounded by Non Sa-at (in the Udon Thani province ), Kranuan, Sam Sung, Mueang Khon Kaen, Ubolratana, and Khao Suan Kwang . In 1991, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act, which mandated that certain diseases associated with exposure to herbicide agents, including chloracne and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, be presumed service-connected. The threats toward Air Force bases were legitimate and a serious concern for military units stationed in Thailand. Richmond, VA: 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA, 23225 Nam Phong Thailand. Camp Lejeune Lawsuit. In fact, the distinction is notably absent from records until 2009 when VA published a Memorandum for the Record regarding herbicide use in Thailand during the Vietnam Era. Several veterans services organizations told Military Times their analysts are comparing the old list, which dates to September, 2018 and was published by the Government Accountability Office in November, 2018, and the new version. His claim was denied because the location he served in is not recognized as having been treated with herbicides. Rick, Finally, we invite you to contact us and we welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. In other cases, the VA gets new information about exposure to toxins or side effects that make veterans eligible for additional benefits. A 2023 Guide to VA Disability Rates & Pay Schedules, Individual Unemployability Rating Calculator, List of Blue Water Navy Ships Exposed to Agent Orange (Interactive Vietnam Map), Social Security Disability Benefits Guide. If you filed a claim for one of these conditions in the past, the VA will automatically review your case to see if youre now eligible. VA has establishedpresumptive service connectionfor these veterans, meaning that VA will assume exposure to Agent Orange if veterans can prove that they served in Thailand, at any US or Thai base, between January 9, 1962 and June 30, 1976. Cincinnati, OH: 300 E Business Way, Suite 200, Summit Woods Corporate Center, Cincinnati, OH, 45241 He also noted in his sworn statement that the barrels were leaking all the time and the herbicide got all over his uniform and hands. Disability claims from those veterans who received the VSM for Thailand service, but who did not set foot in the country of Vietnam, were placed under the Haas stay. Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong - Wikipedia Roger Jones was sent to serve in Thailand in 1969. The VA currently awards service-connected benefits for exposure to Agent Orange to veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thai military bases from February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975. Troops exposed to Agent Orange outside of Vietnam could be in line for Postal Service. I arrived in Nam Phong in June of 1972. VA clearly cannot support its long-held position that routine base maintenance activities were only performed by use of commercial herbicides that could not satisfy the 3.307 requirements. The convenience of email has changed the manner in which Americans communicate with their elected officials. Bill seeks to expand eligibility for Agent Orange-related benefits - UPI We pulled perimeter guard and walked thru the dead foliage and barbed wire. It is a result of exposure to agent orange. Elem. The VA is warning veterans to avoid PACT Act fraud and to be wary of third parties such as non-VA-accredited law firms Rep. Mike Bost said he sees no signs that the VA is being overwhelmed, noting that the law also gave the department the Command Sgt. The updated list includes Agents Orange, Pink, Green, Purple, Blue and White and other chemicals, used to create the defoliants, Esper said in a release. I also have many illnesses and have a claim in for Parkinson etc. Agent Orange Registry exams are free exams that help eligible Vietnam War-era Veterans understand their health and help VA to better understand and respond to their health needs. What in the world is going on, and why isnt the VA recognizing any of us?
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