Gulf War Illness - In Depth

 
GULF WAR ILLNESS by @ArmyInfantryMom

In the fall of 1990 more than a half million US Troops headed over-sea's to the Persian Gulf but with the fear of Sodom Hussein using chemical and biological weapons the government had decided they would protect our troops by implementing medical precautionary. These precautionary included Service Members to take pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills and receive a series of Anthrax vaccines.

The PB pills were to protect them if they were exposed to nerve gas agents such as soman and sarin, however the pills were experimental !!! Keep in mind at least half of those who served took them throughout their deployments, but was used even more by the Army personnel.

The Gulf War Veterans were also exposed to many other materials considered dangerous, some occupational and some battlefield related, in fact there were so many they called it a "Toxic Soup." In this toxic soup was, burning oil wells, depleted uranium, organophosphate pesticides, jet and rocket fuels and the leaking of Iraqi chemical weapons after collation air strikes .

Important things we can do,... is find the answers that many Veterans and their families has been asking. For too too long, these questions fell on deaf ears, causing more unnecessary suffering to those affected by Gulf War Illness.

Gulf War Illness: Remember Those Who Served,.. One out of four that served in the first Gulf War have Gulf War Illness!!! Downloaded by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (July 17, 2012)

 

2013 Report
The Institute of Medicine released Gulf War and Health: Treatment of Chronic Multi symptom Illness on January 23, 2013. This report describes the scientific and medical research on the treatment of chronic multi symptom illness in Gulf War Veterans.
http://iom.nationalacademies.org/Reports/2013/Gulf-War-and-HealthTreatment-for-Chronic-Multisymptom-Illness.aspx

 

Consequence Of Using Uranium Emissions

Another note of importance and relativity is that the destruction of the Khamisisyah weapons depot had large quantities of sarin which is a chemical weapon was stored there. Vets had said that often when out on the battlefield their chemical biological detection equipment would go off and they were told it was reading falsely, something was wrong with the equipment. In fact the devices went off so often they were told to just ignore them. The military had thought that the levels were to low to cause any harm or risk to those exposed. They had thought chemical weapons either kills you or it won't, no one thought about the consequences of repeated exposure even in low doses.

Doug Rokke who is a former Liaison Officer U.S. Army Chemical School had said, "I know based on personal and professional experience that the veterans are getting ill as a consequence of using uranium emissions and all other exposures during war time".

The metal known as "depleted uranium" or otherwise known as "DU" is a key component of American armor piercing rounds and it is the only metal that burns. It sets off a fire that’s nearly impossible to put out. Even though depleted uranium is a powerful weapon for us to use it has one major drawback, it is radioactive and fire releases those radioactive chemicals into the air.

Doug Rokkes job was to clean up Iraqi tanks that was destroyed by DU rounds. He states that him and others started getting sick within the first 24 hours, respiratory problems and a rash that some still have today. When Doug returned back to the U.S. he was told to create training material on how to safely handle the Du. In Doug’s final executive summary he stated, "that it was IMPOSSIABLE to reduce the toxicity in uranium emissions". Doug went on to say, " the toxicity of uranium is well known and well documented". He also made the startling statement that, "he and his team were ordered to do, was not to report the adverse health and environmental effects of uranium emissions, because they don’t want any liability or responsibility for after they are used", he went on to say, "that there was and is a cover-up.

However Dr. Michael Kilpatrrick from the U.S. dept. of Defense will tell you that the 320 tons of DU used wasn't that much considering it could be held in a 8x8x8 cube. However, I have to stop and ask,.. What does it matter on how much space 320 tons of uranium takes ? Wouldn't what is released in the air the more important factor ?

The Military establishment and a lot of medical research doctors claim the symptoms of the Gulf War Illness is a “media sickness“, not a medical illness. Military medical researchers have checked the symptoms of Gulf War Veterans and compared it to the known effects of chemicals used in the Gulf and say they don’t match up and even if it did, the Pentagon maintains that there is no comparison between the two.
Meanwhile, Many veterans are suffering from brain lesions, strokes, respiratory problems, pain, muscle weakness among just a few of the symptoms, and all along they are being told, it's just in your head. They are also told they weren’t exposed to any harmful levels of anything which caused many veterans to feel betrayed and feel as if they were being lied too.

The issue of “sarin nerve gas” reinforced the vets suspicions and the pentagon stood firm when saying there was no sarin released, however the veterans who were there will tell you differently. In fact after the destruction of the Khamisisyah depot UN inspectors found sarin on the sight and after 9 years it was finally admitted that yes 100,000 soldiers were exposed to it. The Pentagon also claimed it did not cause ANY harm.

Sick veterans did not believe that there was no effects to being exposed and because of the past history of “Agent Orange” in the Vietnam War, they feel that they cannot trust the pentagon, Military officials nor the Military Medical Doctors. Mind you with the Agent Orange poisoning it took 20 - 30 years before the officials would confess, ya it made soldiers sick, by which time a lot of them were already dead. The ones affected with GWS is now wondering, will the truth come out in 20 - 30 years when they too are all just about dead?

In 2007, 16 years after the Gulf War a Boston University study had shown exposure to the “sarin and cyclosarin” had in fact caused lasting brain defects. Medical researchers now with advanced technology is now studying the effects of DU and radioactive dust. Those that inhaled the DU, especially when its burning does cause a terrific amount of damage to the human system even in very low amounts such as less than a gram.

Dr. Durakovic, who started working with the veterans when they returned home suspected radiation and began to test them to see if DU was at the root of their medical problems. As Dr. Durakovic continued his research he began getting threats to stop all research, and sure is shit, he did lose his job, apparently because they needed to do a workers deduction. So with his job taken away so was his research on these Vets.

Dr. Durakovic along with the Wayne State University in Michigan was able to continue ground breaking testing and the results are amazing,...
In recent years Wayne State University in Michigan, equipped with new technology has picked up on Dr. Durakovic research where he left off. Five gulf War Veterans were willing to donate their blood samples to a vast of testing and scrutiny all in hopes of finally proving this wasn't just all in their heads, which is offensive in its self. This testing will brings many answers to the question on conspiracy.

The blood will be tested to show if damage had been done to their chromosomes. They will be using what they call a SKY test. They flew Dr. ASAF Durakovik into Detroit to take part on this research testing, he is now the Director or Research for the Uranium Medical Research Center. Dr. Durakovic said these test finding will either prove or disprove the GWS conspiracy, however still to this day the Military Medical Doctors will say its a media illness. The sarin has been shown and proven to cause brain defects however it did not explain the GWS.

It had been noted the five Vet's that’s been tested was not near the sarin. In the lab they have arranged an advanced DNA test to see if radiation from the depleted uranium weapons could be another or prime reason for Gulf War Illness. The Sky test will look for damage to their chromosomes by painting each of the chromosomes using a unique color. Florissant markers give each separate chromosome a unique spectral signature in a way never possible before and will determine if the chromosomes is broken, mixed up or missing. In the normal aging process there is a small amount of chromosome damage but certain characteristics of a damaged chromosome can tell if its from radiation. Each chromosome has a different mix of DNA patterns and therefore absorbs a unique combination of dyes to become a specific color. The SKY's machine built in computer can quickly identify which is which. Chromosomes on the screen get marked and the SKY's software crates a table for easy comparison.
The Results

A normal set of human chromosomes has 22 matched pairs plus the 2 sex chromosomes xx for female and xy for male. The chromosomes of these five soldiers showed lots of breakage, meaning the chromosome was split into 2 separate ones, this frequently is associated with radiation. The Sky test were startling, all five of the Veterans had significant damage to their chromosomes, the levels were even higher than cancer patients. The tests also shown and PROVEN translocations, which means a part of one chromosome broke off and Trans located to a different chromosome. It also showed that there was gains and losses in chromosomes, which is common in cancer patients and is also the cause for birth defects such as down syndrome. Finding chromosome damage associated radiation in non cancer patients is highly unusual.

The type of chromosome damage as seen in these five veterans crates genetic kayos in the effected cells, from such disorder any number of problems can arise. The test results are just as Dr. Durakovik predicted and not only did the test prove their damage was severe, it was proven alfa radiation was the cause. I'd also like to mention these vets chromosomes damage were 10 times higher than the normal populations and even more damaging than those being treated for cancer. So what does this mean for vets who have gulf War Illness ? Dr. Durakovic said even though this answers many questions, it now poses even more questions.

These Veterans have significant health problems and sadly that will never change, there is no direct way to fix damaged chromosomes. They can be treated for the symptoms as they occur and Dr. Durakovic said he can reassure them that it won't kill them, but to eliminate the damage from the body completely is impossible. Damaged chromosomes are an indicator of a unstable system.

So What Does This Mean ???

So what did the results mean to the on going debate about GWS ? Once again, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick U.S. Dept. of Defense says,.. There wasn’t anything uniquely specific about the groups of symptoms that the Gulf War veterans had to those who didn't deploy, so we couldn't distinguish them based on symptoms its just they were almost twice as likely to have symptoms as those who did not deploy. He continued to say, " Medically a syndrome is a set of symptoms that are the same in all the people it progresses the same over time in the people and has the same result, but we weren't seeing that in our Gulf War Veterans".

Gulf War Syndrome-Killing Our Own by Gary Null (Trailer)

Anthrax Vaccines
 Our Veterans are being offended when people tell them it's all it their heads. I feel it's only appropriate to start this section featuring a comment I read by a Veteran. Here is a few of the Snippet's - "The Gulf War vets of 1990-1991 are quickly becoming silenced and forgotten. A lost group, as it were, of veterans. But literally THOUSANDS who returned home are either homeless, very ill, or have died. It's a travesty and insult to us all to be brushed aside as if we did nothing at all".
He goes on to say, Me and my brothers and sisters in arms were subjected to all sorts of spurious uses of very old chemical agents. Some having sat around since the 1950's. We were ordered to eat those PB pills - which I can attest to making one very, very ill - and ordered to take anthrax shots. That anthrax was OLD. Some of us, many in fact, were exposed to other airborne contaminants. Combine all these together, and you have a systematic attack on the human CNS. Denial of that is beyond absurd" Then at the end of his comment, he said something that will forever stick with me, He wrote, "Please.. if you are still fighting for us, KEEP FIGHTING. We are virtually ignored...".

I want to start off with just a little history on the anthrax vaccine or as named by the product Bio-Thrax. A milder form of the anthrax vaccine actually was developed here in the U.S. back in the 1940's, in the 1950's it was given to mill workers. However it wasn't until November of 1970 that it was licensed by the FDA after several delays. Since March 1998, more than 524,000 military personnel received more than 2.1 million doses of anthrax vaccine. Standards are for it to be administered in 6 doses and administered just under the skin. What I found through listening to a lot of our veterans, they received the shot deep in the muscles.

Approximately one in every 423 persons inoculated - have reported an adverse reaction. Representative Jack Metcalf (R-WA) stated, "We've been told for three years there is no squalene in the anthrax vaccine, then suddenly we are told, 'Oh yes, it's there, but it's no big deal: it's everywhere.'"

A total of 580,400 soldiers served in the first Gulf War, Only 7,035 men were injured in this war, however By the end of 2000 325,000 of these troops had become disabled, That's 56 % of those who served in the first Gulf War and they were disabled within less than 10 years. So I guess when they said, it's everywhere,.. they meant it.

Squalene

Published data in the issue of Experimental and Molecular Pathology had made a strong connection between Gulf War Syndrome and vaccines contaminated with squalene. In their August 2002 article they reported that not only Veterans who served in the Gulf War was coming down ill, but those who never deployed was getting ill, keep in mind they were participants in the AVIP (Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program). So that just's opens another door, so to speak. let's take a quick back into history, and take a look at squalene. Keep in mind squalene was found by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in five lots of the AVIP anthrax vaccine. The government in October 2000 admits the banned substance exists in vaccines, but maintains it does no harm.

Perhaps they didn't get a chance to read a report by Medical examiners A.J. Evenson and Tim Martin, links Military deaths to anthrax vaccine in the Lansing State Journal September 2000.

Meryl Nass, a Maine doctor who has studied the anthrax vaccine for a decade, says, "They should not give anyone else this vaccine until they know it's safe, There are 450,000 people out there who have been made guinea pigs. All we need to do is watch them and report what has happened to them". Back before 1998, because there was no published papers no literature could be reviewed hence causing further research to be stopped.

Birth Defects

After coming to know many Veterans and hearing their stories and their personal battles with what has been referred to as Gulf War Syndrome I took a very special interest in researching the issues our Vet's are having. In series one and two, I covered how the officials claimed the illness our Vet's were having was in their head, caused by perhaps, media fear. Of course their illness had nothing to do with the that they were exposed to.

They Were Exposed To,.. DEET, Permethrin, Pyridostigmine, Pentachlorophenol, Benzocainesulfur, Aluminum phospide, Baygon, Boric Acid, Sevin, Amidinohydrazone, Depleated Uranium, Diazinon, Dursban, Dichlorvos, Ficam, Carbaryl, Lindane, Malathion, Oil Well Fires, Leaded fuels, Depleted Uranium, Solvents, Decontamagent, Malaria Pills, Campfires, Leishmaniasis, Chemical warfare agents, CARC, Radiation, Vaccinations, D-phenothrin, Allethrin and Paint. For years and years our Vet's went unanswered, without proper care and their voices and pleas for help fell on deaf ears,... just as it did with our Vietnam Vet's.

The Vaccines, The Pills, The Experiments

Earlier I talked about the mandatory vaccines are Service Members were ordered to take, up to as many as 17 different vaccines . Many inquired what is was they were getting for some recalled seeing a sign entering into the building to never discuss these shots with anyone. Also did you know some of these were live vaccines (polio and yellow fever) as well as experimental vaccines that had not been approved such as the anthrax and botulinum toxoid vaccine, keep in mind they were of doubtful efficacy.

Also its important to note the many of the anthrax vaccines was proven to contain squalene.
The vaccines they received were purposely not entered into their medical records, and when they became ill and requested their medical records they were told,.. I'm sorry they have been lost. My research also showed the big money that was made on these vaccines. Later I will cover the PB pills our Vet's were ordered to take that was also EXPERIMENTAL !!! They were never told that the pills or vaccines were experimental, nor were they told the health risks.

In my mind,.. their Freedom of choice was stripped away,..
What pisses me off is that they were NEVER asked if they like to participate in this guinea pig lab test at their own will. I am sure if they were given a choice, many would of opted out which would of been nice because perhaps they wouldn't of had so many children afflicted with devastating and crippling birth defects. I have to start off by saying this research I did was some of the hardest I have ever done, to see these precious children in their condition is heart breaking and to find out they are most likely caused by these poisons that were exposed to our Service Members is gut wrenching.

According to Nation Magazine, "studies have shown that 67% of babies born to Gulf War veterans are deformed. Likely birth defects included Goldenhar syndrome, webbed digits, heart murmurs, chromosomal abnormalities and brain tumors, Some babies were born with no eyes, arms or hands, or with chronic skin conditions and malformed brains. Other babies, apparently born normal, can barely sit up and swallow, some born without any limbs at all and lets not forget some of the Gulf War babies were born with the flesh-eating bacteria.
When these babies started to be born and the parents seek-ed help and started to ask the hard questions they were told by the military and officials were not responsible because their children were considered a Incident of Service,.. A law on the books terms children born with disabilities from Military Service Members who has served in active duty as, "Incident's of service". Which means the government is not liable, which also means these children do not qualify to seek medical care at a VA, they cannot receive disability and it eliminates them from certain education programs.

Did The Gulf War Cause Birth Defects?

Pyridostigmine Bromide Pills
The anti- nerve agent pills called pyridostigmine bromide or PB pills for short may have triggered the symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found. U.S. soldiers were ordered to take these PB pills in order to help protect them against nerve gas. However our troop's were also exposed to large quantities of pesticides including DEET, it was sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes. A study has found that the combination of taking these pills along with the pesticides may have trigger the symptoms know as Gulf War Illness.

The symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, loss of muscle control, memory and attention problems, and muscle and joint pain. For many years the U.S. officials reported Gulf War symptoms was caused by media fear and stress. Researchers who were dedicated to findingtruth behind the Gulf War symptoms, led to the ``ineluctable conclusion'' that the high rate of symptoms in the soldiers was due to their exposure to any or all of the toxins in which more than 20 studies were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs declined to comment on the study, said spokeswoman Alison Aikele.

For those of you that advocate that there is no direct link between the chemicals our troops were exposed to and the Gulf War Illness, you better start removing the warning labels off of our cigarette packs. If sqauline, burning oil wells, radiation, sarin, PB pills and pesticides don't come with no health risks or risks of birth defects then neither does my smokes !!!
Acetylcholinesterase InhibitorsThe key ingredient acetylcholinesterase inhibitors is found in pesticides used to protect the Troop's against insects on the battlefield and can also be found in the pb pills..
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or otherwise called AChEis is used for multiple things such as being used as a weapon in the form of nerve agents, can be used as a antidote to poisoning and in venom it occurs naturally. Some major effects of cholinesterase inhibitors is SLUDGE syndrome, prolonged muscle contraction,bradycardia, hypotension, hypersecretion, bronchoconstriction, GI tract hypermotility, It also causes abnormal brain function and decrease intraocular pressure.

It was also revealed that in the mid-1990s that the potency of PB quadrupled in the presence of DEET, a pesticide widely used in the war. Uniforms of Gulf War personnel also were treated with permethrin, a pesticide that can increase the toxic effect of PB and DEET. James Moss, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist whose work in the mid-1990s found that the PB pill, combined with the pesticide DEET, triggered similar symptoms in cockroaches and mice. He said, "I'm glad to see it written and it's scientifically sound, I think it's overdue that people are saying this, that there is some kind of association. It's turned up in several papers and nobody has negated them.''
Even though they prescribe PB pills to those patients who suffers from myasthenia gravis and it is FDA approved, a New Drug Application was filed in May 1996 for a "investigations new drug" for nerve gas pretreatment use.

What does that mean?
It means it was experimental, most individuals were not informed that PB was an experimental New Drug, our Troop's did not receive thorough information about the possible side effects of PB. Information had been prepared to hand out to them, However, it did not arrive before the fighting begun, Which Means,.. our Troop's once again pays the cost, and again at a very high price,.. Please watch the video below, Then speak out on their behalf. Write your state congressman and demand our Veteran's receive the care they were not only promised, but what they deserve !!!
GULF WAR ILLNESS "The Daily Life"

Resources And More:
Data Survey by NDGWI (Non-deployed Gulf War Veterans)
Seeking Non-Deployed Veterans who have been affected by GWI - Gulf War Illness
Reprint: " (Our Main Focus) Non Deployed GWI (NDGWI) veterans with chronic illnesses similar to GWI are a neglected population that are suffering and dying no different than the “boots on the ground” veterans. We need to be recognized and included in DoD studies to include compensation".
https://4578766.polldaddy.com/s/basic-data-survey-by-ndgwi-nondeployedgwi

Gulf War, Agent Orange and Ionizing Radiation Registry Program
http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/313

GulfLINK - provide on-line access to medical, operational, and intelligence documents from the 1990-1991 Gulf War
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/index.jsp
 
Variety Of Articles on GWI Gulf War Illness via Veterans Today
http://www.veteranstoday.com/category/medical-and-health/gulf-war-illness-gwi/

Books & PDF'S:
The Irritable Heart by Jeff Wheelwright
In The Irritable Heart Jeff Wheelwright profiles five ailing veterans, unraveling the health mystery through their intimate and fascinating case histories. He describes the veterans' experiences, beginning with their deployment to the Gulf and tracking them through their return, their mysterious suffering, and their struggles to find the reasons for their illnesses.
http://www.amazon.com/Irritable-Heart-Medical-Mystery-Gulf/dp/0393338738

FREE PDF - Review of Toxicologic and Radiologic Risks to Military Personnel from Exposure to Depleted Uranium During and After Combat
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11979/review-of-toxicologic-and-radiologic-risks-to-military-personnel-from-exposure-to-depleted-uranium-during-and-after-combat

Description - Since the 1980s, the U.S. military has used depleted uranium in munitions and in protective armor on tanks. Depleted uranium is a toxic heavy metal and is weakly radioactive. Concerns have been raised about the adverse health effects from exposure to depleted uranium that is aerosolized during combat. Some think it may be responsible for illnesses in exposed veterans and civilians. These concerns led the Army to commission a book, Depleted Uranium Aerosol Doses and Risks: Summary of U.S. Assessments, referred to as the Capstone Report that evaluates the health risks associated with depleted uranium exposure. This National Research Council book reviews the toxicologic, radiologic, epidemiologic, and toxicokinetic data on depleted uranium, and assesses the Army's estimates of health risks to personnel exposed during and after combat. The book recommends that the Army re-evaluate the basis for some of its predictions about health outcomes at low levels of exposure, but, overall, the Capstone Report was judged to provide a reasonable characterization of the exposure and risks from depleted uranium.

The Environmental Health Registry Programs for Veterans provides an overview of five VA health registry programs that track the health of Veterans exposed to environmental hazards during military service: Gulf War, Ionizing Radiation, Agent Orange, Depleted Uranium, and Toxic Embedded Fragments
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/exposures/registry-evaluation-brochure.pdf

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors 2012 Edition http://www1.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book/2012_Federal_benefits_ebook_final.pdf

Depleted Uranium/Gulf War Syndrome - Action Guide http://www.iacenter.org/images/du_snafu.pdf

Caring for Gulf War I Veterans Emphasis is placed on providing the most recent information from clinical and scientific studies of Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/vhi/caring-for-gulf-war-veterans-vhi.pdf

Malaria:- Pocket Guide for Clinicians http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/exposures/malaria-pocketcard.pdf
 
In closing,.. I am hoping this article will bring about more conversations related to Gulf War Illness,.. So more awareness can be brought about and perhaps we can learn even more, to better help our veterans who suffer with this throughout their daily lives. Please feel free to share your comments,.. and even if some of us disagrees that's okay just as long as we remain respectful to one another opinions and such.

Also,.. If your an organization or group that works with veterans with Gulf War Illness or have resources,.. feel free to e-mail me at: @Army_Infantry_Mom@yahoo.com for networking purposes and I can add your listing to this article so others may find you.