Expand Agent Orange Registry Examination

From: "Bruce K Melson" <doc32751@cookeville.com>

X-RCPT-TO: <Will@willpete.com>

Subject: NVOA Veterans List: Expand Agent Orange Registry Examination To Veterans With Service In Korea Durin

 

VA Moves To Expand Agent Orange Registry Examination To Veterans With
Service In Korea During 1968 And 1969

The VA has acknowledged the possibility that some veterans who served in the
Republic of Korea during 1968 and 1969 may have been exposed to Agent
Orange. The VA recently promulgated a directive to offer veterans who served
in the Republic of Korea during 1968 and 1969 the same Agent Orange Registry
examination currently provided to veterans who served in the Republic of
Vietnam during the Vietnam era.

In the past, some veterans who had served in Korea had been denied a
registry examination because the program was limited to veterans who served
in Vietnam. Recent information from the Department of Defense indicates that
a small amount of Agent Orange was used in Korea during 1968 and 1969 near
the southern border of the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Much smaller amounts of
herbicide were used in Korea than in Vietnam. It is possible that some U.S.
veterans who served near the DMZ may have been exposed, even though the
Department of Defense contends its records indicate that all of the spraying
was done by troops from the Republic of Korea.

Veterans who served in Korea, especially those who were stationed near the
DMZ, should request an Agent Orange Registry Examination at their nearest VA
Medical facility.

At the present time, veterans who served in Korea are not offered additional
health care and compensation benefits based upon a presumption of
service-connection due to exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange and the
contaminant dioxin. However, veterans who can establish that they were
exposed to herbicides during military service and that it is "as likely as
not" that a present illness is related to that exposure can meet the
criteria for service-connected benefits. In most cases the veteran will need
to prove exposure and submit an opinion of a medical expert linking the
exposure to the current illness.
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"When the way comes to an end, then change - having changed, you pass through."

      I. Ching

 

 Bruce "Doc". Melson

http://www.docmelson.com/