PRESENTED BY
SOUTHERN ARIZONA VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Activating Veterans Through Healthy Peer Relationships
Engaging Veterans to develop and sustain lasting peer relationships focused on healthy behaviors and activities: Empower Veterans to identify their own wants/needs
Enhance collaboration among current programs in Pima County Area in support of Veteran driven activities
Establish a network of mentors to offer coaching in healthy skills development .
Utilizing Technology and Social Media to promote peer driven relationships
Building 4,
Conference Room A & B
Where: Southern AZ VA
Health Care System
3601 S. 6th Ave.
Tucson AZ, 85723
Date: Friday, September 9, 2011
Time: 8:30 am to 3:30 pm
RSVP: Jeffrey Winter
Jeffrey.Winter2@va.gov
Sheila Sedig
Sheila.Sedig@va.gov
William Patterson
William.Patterson7@va.gov
For more information about the Southern AZ VA Health Care System
Visit: www.tucson.va.gov
Veterans Lead Symposium
Introduction and Mission Dr. Jeffrey Winter 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
of the Symposium Health Behavior Coordinator
Southern Arizona VA Health Care
Social Skills Development Dr. Chris Segrin 9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Chair, Department of Communications
University of Arizona
Resiliency Training M. Sgt William Naney 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. Arizona National Guard
Break 10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Intergenerational Communication Dr. Jake Harwood 10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
University of Arizona
Therapeutic Recreation and Exercise Beth Lucas 10:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor
Tucson Parks and Recreation
Social Media as a Networking Tool Will Patterson 11:00 – 11:30 a.m.
OEF/OIF Patient Transition Coordinator
Southern Arizona VA Health Care
Lunch 11:30 – 12:30 a.m.
Breakout Work Sessions 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Utilizing the GROW Model
Goals, Reality, Options, What’s Next
Communication and Marketing
Measurement of effectiveness
Establish Priorities for this initiative
Nuts and Bolts of successful planning
Break 2:00 – 3:15 p.m.
Follow-up planning – What’s next 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Where does that leave us?
Commitments of participating organizations
Timelines
Flexibility
All posts by Michael Brewer
Veteran Veritas Gone Boatin'
I will be on vacation in Ventura and Santa Cruz, California until September 3rd, 2011. Thank you for all of your support in the past year.
While, this column is not the Tucson Citizen’s Blue Chip Blog, it has been read consistently and by way of feedback has achieved its original mission, which is advocacy for veterans and the creation of an open dialogue regarding all matters that impact the life of veterans, their families, and our nation. I have learned as much from the readers as I have offered. That is the clear and present beauty of blogging. Sort of like sitting in a coffee shop mulling over current events.
On a humorous note, one time last Fall, Veteran Veritas had as many readers as the sports blogs. It was Veterans Day and Marine Corps birthday,which helped a bunch. I was elated. Then my son called and mentioned the reason may have been that the U of A lost that week!
See you in September. Mike
Veterans For Change Press Release Regarding Agent Orange
Veterans-For-Change
11901 Samuel Drive
Garden Grove, California 92840
MEDIA RELEASE
Written by: Jim Davis IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Edited by: Barbie Perkins-Cooper
Date: July 31, 2011
Contact: Jim Davis, Founder & CEO – Veterans for Change – Jdavis92840@sbcglobal.net
Veterans Serving in Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and CONUS Still Denied…Denied…Denied
Garden Grove, CA – 08/04/11 – As the founder and CEO of Veterans-For-Change, an advocacy group for Veterans rights, benefits, and treatment, my co-members and I would like to bring to your attention the ever-increasing problems affecting veterans and their families every day.
Among the issues we would like to address are the following:
AO, TCE/PCE, Benzene Contamination (CONUS, Including Alaska, HI, and Canada, Panama Canal):
Every day, thousands of veterans who served in Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and CONUS are denied benefits they are entitled to for exposure to dioxin from Agent Orange and other defoliants. According to the website: http://www.vetshome.com/agent_orange_use_outside_of_viet.htm — “VA has received a listing from the Defense Department of locations outside of Viet Nam where Agent Orange was used or tested over a number of years. The information gives periods of time, locations and chemicals used. It does not contain units involved or individual identifying information. The listings are almost exclusively Army records although there are an extremely limited number of Navy and Air Force records. These listings relate only to chemical efficacy testing and/or operational testing. The records do not refer to the use of Agent Orange or other chemicals in routine base maintenance activities such as spraying along railroad tracks, weed control on rifle ranges, etc. Information on such use does not exist. VA will develop the listing for proof of exposure for claims for disabilities resulting from Agent Orange exposure outside of Viet Nam. VA does have significant information regarding Agent Orange use in Korea along the DMZ. DoD has confirmed that Agent Orange was used from April 1968 up through July 1969 along the DMZ. DoD defoliated the fields of fire between the front line defensive positions and the south barrier fence. The size of the treated area was a strip of lane 151 miles long and up to 350 yards wide from the fence to north of the civilian control line. There is no indication that herbicide was sprayed in the DMZ itself.
In addition to service overseas, we have countless thousands of veterans who served on many military bases stateside who were exposed to TCE, PCE, Benzene and approximately 35-45 more harmful chemicals, never provided safety and use instruction or equipment, and are now just as equally ill.
In both S.E. Asia and CONUS Agent Orange was used as a defoliant. In S.E. Asia, the chemicals were used to protect our troops and prevent the enemy from hiding in the foliage to kill many more of our fighting men and women. (Est. time frame of 1962-1975)
In the CONUS, [Continental United States] these harmful, debilitating herbicides were used to keep surroundings of various military buildings free from unwanted vegetation growth and keeps it clean and neat looking.
On all military bases, on board ships, everywhere mechanical components were cleaned and re-used TCE was the chemical of choice as a degreaser. PCE is the chemical of choice for dry cleaners, again never used with any protective gear.
Veterans who served in Korea and on the DMZ are denied benefits due to erroneous reports about where these chemicals were deployed and that there is no “residual life” of Agent Orange Dioxin which if it were true then why are we in Viet Nam helping the Vietnamese government to clean up the land that was contaminated some 40 years ago?
According to the reliable website, http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/ “October 13, 2009 Secretary Shinseki decided to establish service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with B cell leukemia, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease. This is based on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine showing an association with exposure to Agent Orange. Vietnam veterans with these diseases may be eligible for disability compensation and health care benefits.”
Based on our research, interviews with veterans and additional resources as advocates for our military, Veterans-For-Change believes exposure to Agent Orange is truly exposure to a deadly chemical, regardless of the location where it was deployed. Please review the website http://thewe.cc/weplanet/asia/vietnam/agent_orange_victims_of-US_herbicide_spraying_vietnam.htm for further details. There have been far too many reports of illness, including cancers, Diabetes, heart disease, and many, many more – all related to service or tour of duty in a combat zone, or in a contaminated zone!
One of the chemicals in the Agent Orange herbicide combination contained contaminating traces of TCDD (dioxin). Dioxin has been shown to cause a variety of illnesses in laboratory animals. http://veteransinfo.tripod.com/Background_on_Agent_Orange.pdf. Studies also suggest that the chemical may be related to a number of cancers and other health effects in humans. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/health_effects.asp The research data speaks for itself – Agent Orange was and is a deadly, toxic chemical, destroying the health and lives of many Veterans, including those who served in Korea and on the DMZ.
Many of these Veterans are continuously denied as the missions they served on were, and still to this day remain, classified by the DoD even though former President Bush signed executive order 13292 on March 28, 2003 http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/pdf/03-7736.pdf directing classified missions beyond 25 years be declassified. Veterans-For-Change, as an advocacy group, has as its mission to broadcast and inform all veterans about their rights concerning Agent Orange, regardless of when and where the military veteran was exposed. You, the legislators of our proud and courageous country owe a debt of gratitude and benefits and care to our veterans. Please take a stand and help us to provide the best care for our veterans. Take action today!
Block TRICARE Rate Increases
Veterans-For-Change joins with USDR and the National Association of Uniformed Services (NAUS) on this issue.
Military retirees and their families have earned the TRICARE benefit through 20 or more years of arduous uniformed service. What they have earned and what they have been promised should not be first in line for budget cuts when there are so many lower priority programs that should be chopped first.
As there have been no Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/colasummary.html for military retired pay for the past several years this increase in TRICARE fees will result in reduced military retirement pay.
You can block the Pentagon plan and stop the Pentagon from making a 13 percent increase in TRICARE Prime fees.
President Obama has said: “We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America, a commitment that begins with enlistment and must never end.” This statement was published in April, 2009. Isn’t it time for Congress and our Government to make these strong, compelling words come true for our precious Veterans who are finding living with the difficulties, physical and emotional wounds of combat more than they can tolerate?
If our nation rescinds its promises and ignores its obligation to those who have fought to preserve freedom throughout the world, we compromise the right to ask our men and women to serve and defend our national principals. The choice is yours.
Isn’t it time America and the VA treated our soldiers and veterans with the respect, and the benefits so promised.
Veterans-For-Change has been crying out to all 535 members of Congress now for four years as of April 2006, as President Wilson said, a leader’s ears must ring with the voices of the people! Do you hear us?
Veterans and their families are tired of campaign promises and yellow ribbons and endless speeches that mean absolutely nothing. We need politicians on Capitol Hill to take immediate action to truly support all Veterans. It has been said that “Actions speak more than words…perhaps now is the time to truly take action and show our Veterans, we are America. We are proud, and we support and service our Veterans who served so proudly to defend our Nation.
Vietnam Veterans Of America Praise PTSD Settlement
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Budget Smudget And Other Freakonomics
What astounds me the most about this budget process is how vacant the media is in the education arena. There are tremendous opportunities for, “The American People,” a phrase we hear 1000 times a day, and “the next generation,” which we hear another 200o times., to provide some insight and content about the actual budget process, wherein one would discover that there is so little wiggle room in discretionary spending that it makes most of this theater look like sandbox play. End the wars and the budget is balanced. Amen.
The “Other America,” has indeed been watching and listening, and we hold the media as culpable as the duopoly of ideational cotton candy.
As the saying goes the news today is, “coverage not content.”
Caterpillar Corp. has about 98,000 employees, with only 40,000 or so in the United States. Why? Lets answer that in front of the “American people.” You will then get closer to the revenue problem that cannot possibly be handled with political wrangling. I honestly think Newt Gingrich was right on when he made his faupa in front of fellow GOP members, by stating, “they are too engaged in social engineering.” That is the sponsoring thought my friends, and the cat is out of the bag. With the likes of the Carlyle Group buying up water rights around the nation and the sale/leaseback of public buildings to foreign investors, the budget debates are the grandest red herring in our democratic history. We are selling off our water and wind energy to Communist nations in the middle of the night, and no one seems to care or know.
This bullpucky about “The President has no plan,” is repeated in rote like it is some religious prayer. Presidents do not have their OWN plan. Never have. That happens to be our system of governing. Yet people suck it up on a Monday and by Thursday the entire nation are moo-cows repeating Rush Bimbaugh with ditto head phrases that even trick their own brains into thinking they are thinking.
As a long time non-partisan registered voter, I recall the wonderful ” Swiftboat” days where anything that came from the mouth of a veteran with a piss cutter on was gospel truth. Did you know that 3 of those men had to retract their stories,(that were paid for btw), because they were too stupid to realize the VA was listening? So, if there was no valor on that particular day for John Kerry, ( I do not like him btw), then they would have to turn in their own medals and give up their disability pensions. No news story ever followed.
The drum beat from the media was deafening as it is now, but nearly absent of accuracy and self correction. Remember the siren cries about Kerry not signing an SRF-180 form? You would have thought it was an act of sedition. It is only a damn request for records. He is a friggin Senator. They just send him his records. Period! Bimbaugh made it sound like the man would not take an oath and the whole nation fell for it. And we used to think only the Russians and Pravda were skilled at brainwashing.
The other doozy, sorry for the long analogies, but they are now current, is the blasting over the air waves about the Overseas ballots not being post marked in 2004. We must have heard that 100 times a week. Ladies and gentleman, mail from troops who are deployed has not been postmarked via the USPS since World War l. It comes through the Armed Forces network. Yet the nation fell for it and the media did nothing to correct, educate, or adhere to any standard of accuracy in reporting.
Now, today, this hour, we are witnessing the advent and implementation of the Supreme Court. Citizens United decision. Corporations can sponsor and say just about anything they want, with total impunity and not an ounce of rebuking from our once sacred Fourth Estate that has now been co-opted by pretty face journalism.
Add to that, the Supreme Court decision about “Stolen Valor,” the simple upshot that it is not unconstitutional to lie, and you have the ground work for unraveling a nation and inserting your private agenda. That is what Newt meant by social engineering.
I believe Satan just landed at LAX and is traveling America on bus tours.
Entrepeneurship Program for Veterans With Disabilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact:
Elise Anderson
elise.anderson@anderson.ucla.edu
(310) 206-7537
UCLA Anderson School of Management Provides Free
Entrepreneurship Program for Veterans with Disabilities
LOS ANGELES, CA – July 20, 2011 –UCLA Anderson School of Management and a select group of business schools are offering the fourth consecutive Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). Some twenty-four military personnel who were injured in the line of duty will receive education and training in entrepreneurship and small business management free of charge. The program, which runs between July 23 and 31, 2011, is designed to help participants learn essential skills that will lead to successful careers in starting, growing and managing entrepreneurial ventures.
“We have an obligation to support disabled veterans who return to our communities and seek to build meaningful economic opportunities for themselves and others,” said Professor Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., Senior Associate Dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management. “With UCLA Anderson’s highly regarded entrepreneurship faculty and programs, we are honored to be providing these veterans with the tools to advance their entrepreneurial ambitions.”
EBV applications are accepted from veterans with a ‘service-connected disability,’ as designated by the Veterans Administration, and who have served on active duty after September 2001. Candidates must demonstrate a strong interest in entrepreneurship, high motivation for owning and managing a business, and a commitment to completing the program. To date, more than 50 veterans from around the nation have graduated from the program since its inception at UCLA Anderson.
Amy Sufak, a 2009 EBV alum and president of Red Energy Public Relations, Inc., was so moved by the program that she now serves as a course instructor. “I sincerely appreciate the resources and training this program provided me so that I could create a solid business that is still growing strong three years later,” said Sufak. “This program is about people helping people, and paying it forward to help change the life of one veteran at a time.”
The EBV was introduced by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2007. The following year, the EBV Consortium was launched as a national partnership with UCLA Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business and Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Purdue University, the University of Connecticut and Louisiana State University have since joined the consortium. The EBV is designed around two guiding principles. The first focuses on practical training in new venture creation and growth, including information on programs and opportunities specific to disabled veterans and the businesses that they own. The second focuses on establishing a support structure for graduates through mentoring and other forms of technical assistance.
The UCLA Anderson EBV program is administered by the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and is comprised of three distinct phases. Students develop their initial concepts during the online component of the program; participate in experiential workshops and in-class learning while at UCLA; and receive ongoing support and mentorship from UCLA Anderson faculty and alumni in the year following the residential component. With the generous support of corporate sponsors and private individuals, the entire program – including tuition, travel, and accommodations – is offered at no cost to the veterans.
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support that we have received for the EBV program,” said Elaine Hagan (’91), executive director of the Price Center. “The success of our past three classes has demonstrated the enormous value of the EBV, and we expect that this year’s program will have a significant impact on the lives of our veterans and their communities as well.”
About the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies:
The Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA Anderson School of Management is an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurial education and research. With a distinguished faculty as its cornerstone, the Center oversees activities that advance the theory and practice of entrepreneurship as well as the related fields of technology and innovation, venture capital and private equity, and social enterprise. Well known for the impact of its outreach programs, the Price Center fosters a spirit of innovation in individuals, enhances the managerial capacity of organizations, and prepares entrepreneurial leaders who will provide significant, sustainable and economic value to society.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management:
Celebrating 75 years of Business Beyond Usual, UCLA Anderson School of Management is regarded among the leading business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty members are globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides a distinctive approach to management education to more than 1,800 students enrolled in its MBA, Fully-Employed MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Global Executive MBA, Master of Financial Engineering, doctoral and executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 39,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.
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Note to journalists: Contact information for program participants available on request.
Men Who Did Not Sign Grover Norquists Pledge
Lance Cpl Robert Greniger 21. Lance Cpl Norberto Hernandez 22. Spec. Rafael Nieves 22. Army Sgt. Christopher Soderland 23. Army Sgt. Nicano Amper 36. Marine Staff Sgt. Thomas J Dodds Dudley 29. Army Sgt. 1st Clas Terry L. Parker 39. Army Sgt. Steve Talamantez 34. Spec Nathan Byers 24. Spec Nicolas W Newby 20.
All members who died supporting combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, confirmed by the Defense Department July 8-14. Casualty totals 10. Wounded in action 150.
October 10, 2001 to July 14th, total dead 1649 in OEF. 12,593 wounded.
March 19th, 2003 to July 14th. 4462 dead. 32,153 wounded.
All died protecting and defending the system of Government we are trying so hard to export to foreign soil. What wonderful role models we have walking the hallowed halls of congress.
Elected Officials Are Veteran Uncle Toms
This is what is going on in the backrooms of the halls of Congress while you are mislead, misinformed, misguided, and just plain missed in the hearts and minds of these men and women with an abacus in one hand and a heart of stone in another. I believe, “take back the country,” is a ruse for anarchy, which is just around the corner. Especially in the community of veterans who actually did something for their country. Producing “soundbites” is not called something.
FLASH UPDATE
http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/
Thursday, July 21, 2011
On the Amendment Senator Coburn (R-OK) sponsored that would cut the list of presumptive Agent Orange exposure connected diseases,
yesterday at about 1730 hours the Amendment was tabled (functionally killed) by a vote of 69 – 30 in the US Senate.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00114
Those voting NOT TO TABLE the Amendment are YOUR elected representatives. They have taken a stand AGAINST your interests:
Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Blunt (R-MO), Chambliss (R-GA), Coats (R-IN), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Enzi (R-WY), Graham (R-SC), Hatch (R-UT), Hutchison (R-TX),Johnson (R-WI), Kirk (R-IL), Kyl (R-AZ), Lee (R-UT), Lugar (R-IN), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Paul (R-KY), Portman (R-OH), Risch (R-ID), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Toomey (R-PA), Vitter (R-LA), Wicker (R-MS)e
Lung problems found in Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-veterans-idUSTRE76J78720110721?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100
By Gene Emery
NEW YORK | Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:17am EDT
(Reuters Health) – Shortness of breath and reduced fitness among some military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan may be caused by lung damage from smoke, sandstorms and toxins, a new study suggests.
Researchers who performed lung biopsies on 38 veterans with unexplained breathing problems found a form of tissue damage — called constrictive bronchiolitis — that is rare in young adults and doesn’t show up in standard tests.
In all but one case, a “lacy black pigment” also coated the delicate lung surfaces.
Dr. Robert Miller of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center said the cases, which he has been gathering for years, are apparently caused by exposure to airborne toxins during deployment.
“We believe they’re deployed to some pretty toxic environments. They’re exposed to burning solid waste, burning human waste (particularly in Iraq), and consistently exposed to fine particulate matter that’s easily inhaled deep into the lungs at a level that’s above what’s desirable,” Miller told Reuters Health in a telephone interview.
Dust storms and combat smoke may also be a factor. Previous research has suggested that service in the Middle East increases the risk of breathing problems.
Among the volunteers examined in the new study — primarily members of the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky — most had long-term exposure to a sulfur-mine fire that burned for 30 days in 2003 near Mosul, Iraq, Miller and his colleagues write in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In all, Miller’s team tested 80 previously fit soldiers who no longer met the Army’s physical fitness standards.
Forty-nine agreed to undergo an invasive lung biopsy procedure after chest X-rays and other standard tests did not reveal the cause of their problems.
All 49 had tissue samples that were judged to be abnormal. The diagnosis of constrictive bronchiolitis — a thickening of the walls of the smallest lung passages, the bronchioles — was made in 38 cases (35 men and three women). Seven were active smokers and six were former smokers.
READ MORE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/21/us-veterans-idUSTRE76J78720110721?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100
Posted by AgentOrangeZone at 11:42 AM 0 comments 
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
URGENT! URGENT! URGENT! UPDATE
The Amendment sponsored by Senator Coburn (R-OK) has been tabled (functionally killed) by a vote of 69 – 30 in the US Senate.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=1&vote=00114
Those voting NOT TO TABLE the Amendment are:
Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Blunt (R-MO), Chambliss (R-GA), Coats (R-IN), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Enzi (R-WY), Graham (R-SC), Hatch (R-UT), Hutchison (R-TX),Johnson (R-WI), Kirk (R-IL), Kyl (R-AZ), Lee (R-UT), Lugar (R-IN), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Paul (R-KY), Portman (R-OH), Risch (R-ID), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Toomey (R-PA), Vitter (R-LA), Wicker (R-MS)e
Posted by AgentOrangeZone at 5:43 PM 3 comments
Would YOU want Senator Coburn providing YOUR medical care?
Time for everyone to contact your US Senator, urging a “NO” vote on this damaging and totally unnecessary amendment that is intended to not only reverse the recent additions of diabetes, ischemic heart disease and certain cancers; but, also to undermine and/or “gut” P. L. 102 -4, which too many of us fought a ten plus year battle getting enacted by Congress and signed by Bush the First in February 1991.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d112:24:./temp/~bd8Cme::
S.AMDT.564 to H.R.2055 To require evidence of causal relationships for presumptions by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents.
Sponsor: Sen Coburn, Tom [OK] (introduced 7/19/2011) Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 7/19/2011 Senate amendment proposed (on the floor)
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/?p=ContactForm
OFFICE PHONE: 202-224-5754
Response To July 23rd Posting Regarding Agent Orange And Old Planes at Davis Monthan Air Force Base
I reckon this is one of the key values of a Blog. The truth will surface through a dialectical process that does not really exist elsewhere. Plus these postings are quite frequently revisited unlike much of the daily print media that expires as sunset every day. One posting from June of 2009 about Vietnam Veterans dying prematurely, has more hits than any of the other 400 posts! I am sure this one will have a long half life.
Director
Air Force Public Affairs
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
Dear Sir or Madam,
In April 2010 the 75th ABW, Hill AFB, Utah prepared in advance a press release describing the destruction of the remaining C-123K/UC-123K aircraft at the Davis-Monthan AFB.
Throughout the period 2000-2010, intense concern was raised at different agencies, including the Office of Secretary of Defense, the Air Staff, the Air Force Surgeon General, the Air Force Office of Environmental Law, the Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, HQ Air Force Material Command and more. The concern: dioxin contamination left on the aircraft from their Vietnam War service as Agent Orange spray aircraft in Operation Ranch Hand.
1993 seems to be the first time when tests were ordered on Patches, the Air Force Museum’s famous C-123, was tested before positioning inside the museum. It tested positive for dioxin…in the words of the Air Force test it was “heavily contaminated”.
More tests and correspondence abound during the period 1994-2000 with the only concerns expressed being the disposal of the aircraft, safety of personnel at the Boneyard, whether Walt Disney films should be told that two of the C-123s they purchased for movie production were contaminated, whether foreign governments should be informed that the aircraft transferred to them were contaminated, and similar correspondence.
In 1996 the Air Force Office of Environmental Law recommended the contamination be “kept within official channels”, a recommendation endorsed by the writer’s commander, the Director of the Office of Environmental Law.
In 2000 the Air Force joined with the General Services Administration in a court action to stop the contracted sale of some contaminated C123s. The federal judge took their evidence of the aircraft being “heavily contaminated, extremely dangerous, extremely hazardous, extremely contaminated” and other descriptions, and ordered the sale terminated.
In 2009 the AMARG/AFMC moved towards disposal of the remaining 21 aircraft, but they couldn’t be buried as they were too toxic for a landfill. The recommendation of the Office of Secretary of Defense (Dr Alvin Young, Senior Consultant) was to stop testing the aircraft immediately for toxicity…two of four had tested positive and his suggestion was that that result could be taken two ways.that “only two of the 21 aircraft were toxic”, or that “50% or more of the remaining aircraft were toxic.” As the testing was costly, Dr Young and base officials, acting on Dr Young’s authority from Office of Secretary of Defense, opted to shred the entire fleet of C-123s, having learned that shredded metal does not fall under EPA guidelines as did the aircraft…and there was a threatened $3,000,000,000 fine.
And there were the comments by Colonel Schneider at DM, who told the 75th ABW “he is concerned with the potential dissemination of information”), and museums which wanted them, and private buyers who wanted them so desperately they unsuccessfully sued in federal court to try to force a sale.
Dr Young also recommended that the public affairs at Hill and Davis-Monthan prepare for media inquiries. He mentioned an article from Orion Magazine, and discussed the worry that a media “storm” that might develop could inform Air Force Reservists who flew the airplanes between 1972-1982 that their dioxin-related illnesses might be brought to the VA for treatment. Various drafts of a press release were offered, and Dr Young along with other officials “corrected” the drafts by eliminating words such as “Agent Orange”, “dioxin”, “contamination” and replacing them with words less likely to alarm the public…Agent Orange and dioxin and contamination were replaced with “herbicide” and “aged Vietnam-era airplanes no longer flown.” The last part of the statements disregards the other Air Force memos about agencies desperate to purchase the valuable engines and propellers
In conclusion, a press release was crafted by the PA shop at the 75th Air Base Wing. It was not distributed, but held in case of media inquiry. This was a further element of the effort to minimize public awareness of the true story of the event.
No lies were told. Mistruths were constructed, however, to build a story which really had nothing to do with the real news of the event…dioxin contaminated aircraft. Nobody at the PA shop inquired of the managers of the event about the Air Force Reserve aircrews which had been exposed to dioxin on their airplanes for a full decade. Instead, the public affairs officers bent without objection, indeed, apparently with eager willingness, to construct a press release to deceive the media and the public, as well as the Air Force Reservists beginning to wonder why they have cancer, heart disease, acute peripheral neuropathy, ALS, and other dioxin-related illnesses.
While note part of the public affairs activity at either base, I note a possibly inappropriate use of a business title implying official actions within and by the Office of Secretary of Defense. Dr. Alvin Young was cited in several documents from HQ AFMC and the 75th Air Base Wing as Agent Orange “Senior Consultant to the Office of Secretary of Defense.” He used the title himself in memoranda, and his name and title were cited as authority for the decision by AMARG to shred and smelt 21 surplus C123K/UC-123K aircraft in 2010.
Further, his attitudes and reactions to Reserve Component aircrews are a specific concern, as in his position paper regarding the need for speedy destruction of the dioxin-contaminated aircraft, Dr Young mentions the media “storm” which might attend the operation and cause aircrews and maintenance workers with dioxin-related illnesses to seek care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Concerned with the visibility of this event, which he frequently writes must be low key (and even congratulates base officials on concluding the operation with minimal public attention). There has been an obvious, skillful twisting of words to hide the actual event…destruction of dioxin-contaminated aircraft with a potential $3 billion dollar EPA or State of Arizona fine…by presenting a completely misleading press release. There is an ethical standard in preparation of press releases, but it was ignored here.
Dr. Young, who last week described the dioxin-exposed Air Force Reserve aircrews as “trash haulers, freeloaders looking for a sympathetic Congressman for tax-free dollars” seems an inappropriate person to be editing Air Force press releases especially when he helps direct the misinformation concerning events vital to my health….my friends and I flew those airplanes!
Thanks to various military-oriented editors and reporters, this story has changed quite a bit from what it could have been – the simple “destruction of Agent Orange contaminated aircraft in an environmentally responsible way” to one where the news value is in the early attempts to keep the information in official channels, to one where Air Force public affairs abused the trust of the public and media by misleading them through a poorly-crafted and deceptive press release, and where public affairs at both Hill AFB and Davis-Monthan AFB failed to bring to the attention of leadership their ethical responsibilities, and to alert their leaders as to the negative impact that failing to notify aircrews who’d been exposed to the toxins and the health dangers this press release was designed to conceal from us and our families.
I find this reprehensible.
Respectfully,
Wesley T. Carter, Major USAF
Retired http://c123kcancer.blogspot.com
Spiritural Retreat in Palos Verdes, California
Did your experience of Trauma cause
Spiritual wounds that are still unhealed?
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This weekend may be the start of a new journey for you and your spouse or significant other! Call the number on this flyer and register, scholarship help is available!
The International Conference of War Veteran Ministers (formerly known as National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers), an organization of clergy who served in Vietnam, has a unique mission to minister healing and meaning in the aftermath. As part of that mission the members of ICWVM are offering retreats for spouses and significant others focusing on spiritual issues raised by trauma. These retreats are made possible by the generous support of:
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Vietnam Veterans of America, Incorporated
Information about the International Conference of War Veteran Ministers can be obtained by writing to the organization’s office at:
101 Walker Street, Apartment #B-5, Newtonville, Massachusetts 02460-1536
By calling (617) 930-5208
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Or by visiting the Web Site at www.warveteranministers.org
PTSD and SPIRITUAL HEALING
A weekend retreat for Trauma Survivors and Spouses
Or Significant Others
October 7, 8 and 9, 2011
Mary and Joseph Retreat Center
5300 Crest Road
Rancho Palos Verdes, California
www.maryjoseph.org
A WEEKEND OF SPIRITUAL HEALING
October 7, 8, & 9, 2011 in rancho palos verdes, california
Did you wonder where God was while this traumatic event was happening? Do you have questions about forgiveness? Do you find yourself estranged from God and those closest to you? Do you feel spiritually dead? Is part of you waiting to come home? Twenty-five, thirty, forty, fifty years after their experience with trauma. Survivors still have lots of unresolved questions. Spouses and significant others have questions as well. This weekend will provide an opportunity to raise some of these questions and explore possible avenues to a new life.
THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
Father Phil Salois, M. S., National Chaplain of the Vietnam Veterans of America, served as a foot soldier in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade around Xuan Loc.
The Reverend Dr. Alan Cutter was assigned to the Naval Advisory Group in the First Coastal Zone, working around Danang and points north. Dr. Cutter is a Presbyterian Minister.
Sister Linda McClenahan, OP was a Sergeant working with communications in the southern area of Vietnam. Sister “Sarge” is a Racine Dominican Sister.
Reverend Dr. Jackson H. Day, a Methodist Minister, served as Chaplain to the Fourth Infantry Division in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Join these veterans for a weekend experience you won’t soon forget.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER
CALL NOW
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF WAR VETERANS MINISTERS
(617) 930-5208
COST: $350.00 PER PERSON, $400.00 FOR COUPLES
(INCLUDES ALL MEALS, LODGING AND PROGRAM MATERIALS)
SCHOLARSHIP HELP IS AVAILABLE!