Veteran’s Issues

More Links of interest at the bottom of this page

Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents

Anyone who’s had active duty service prior to January 2002 and planning for retirement. In a nutshell it boils down to this:
You qualify for a higher social security payment because of your military service, for active duty any time from 1940 through 2001 (the program was done away with in January 2002).
Up to $1200 per year of earnings credit (see below websites for more detail) credited at time of application – which can make a substantial difference in social security monthly payments upon your retirement.
You must bring your DD-214 to the Social Security Office – and you must ask for this benefit to receive it!

Soc Sec website: http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm

Veterans Prescription Service (64.012)

Check out VA Watchdog dot Org – Home Page – Keeping an eye on the VA because somebody has to.

Vietnam veterans had higher death rates in the first five years after discharge

Posted By: News-Medical in Medical Study News
Published: Monday, 27-Sep-2004

Vietnam veterans had higher death rates in the first five years after discharge than veterans who did not serve in Vietnam, according to a 30-year follow-up study published in the September 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
During the 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the Vietnam Experience Study (VES) to look at the long-term health effects of military service in Vietnam. Serving in Vietnam exposed servicemen to several possible health factors, including exposure to psychological stress associated with war, infectious diseases prevalent in Vietnam, pesticides and herbicides, and drug and alcohol abuse. The original VES followed 18,313 US Army veterans from their date of discharge from active duty (1965-1977) through December 31, 1983. This study was somewhat limited by the young age of the participants (average age, 36.1 years) and the small number of deaths (446), the article states.

Tegan K. Catlin Boehmer, M.P.H., of the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., and colleagues followed up participants of the VES through 2000, for an average of 30 years of follow-up, and compared outcomes for Vietnam veterans (n=9,324) with veterans who served during the same period, but not in Vietnam (n=8,989).

Over 30 years of follow up, the researchers found that Vietnam veterans had a 7 percent higher death rate (838 deaths, 3.01 deaths per 1,000 person-years) compared to other veterans (746 deaths, 2.79 deaths per 1,000 person-years). This excess mortality among Vietnam veterans was limited to the first five years after discharge from active duty and resulted from an increase in external causes of death, including motor vehicle collision-related deaths, suicides, and homicides. Additionally, Vietnam veterans experienced higher mortality from unintentional poisoning deaths, and from drug-related deaths over the 30-year study period.

“Vietnam veterans continued to experience higher mortality than non-Vietnam veterans from unintentional poisonings and drug-related causes,” the researchers write. “Death rates from disease-related chronic conditions, including cancers and circulatory system diseases, did not differ between Vietnam veterans and their peers, despite the increasing age of the cohort (average age, 53 years) and the longer follow up (average, 30 years),” write the authors.

Any individual can request military medical and personnel records as well as all medals and skill badges by writing to the following address:

ARPERCEN /RECORDS
9700 Page Blvd,
St. Louis Mo. 63232-5200

Enclose a copy of your DD-214 and a letter of what you want.

NPRC initiates online records request procedures.

Release No. 06-01-03
June 5, 2003

The National Personnel Records Center is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.

Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180 which can be downloaded from the online web site.

The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records center’s mailroom processing time. Also, because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized.

Veterans and next of kin may access this application at http://vetrecs.archives.gov. Please note there is no requirement to type “www” in front of the web address.

VIETNAM VETS WITH PROSTATE CANCER IMPORTANT

Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) decision, if a military member served anywhere in Vietnam, all prostate cancer is considered service connected. If the service member dies from prostate cancer, the spouse is entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the VA. If you have or had prostate cancer and served in Vietnam, you are entitled to a service connected disability. All claims and enquiries should be made to the VA office at 1-800-827-1000.

Subject: Dapsone (Little white daily Malaria pill)

The following is an extract from:

The daily dose of Dapsone, however is another story. It is a common drug used in the treatment of leprosy and at the present time in some HIV studies. Dapsone was prescribed as an added protective measure against the other forms of mosquito-borne diseases that Chloroquine/Primaquine did not prevent. It, however, has a list of adverse effects that will not quit. Peripheral neuropathy with motor loss is a definite but unusual complication seen from the use of Dapsone in non-leprosy cases. What were we? The DVA now recognizes peripheral neuropathy. Is this related to herbicides or Dapsone or both? Dapsone use may also cause agranulocytosis, aplastic anemia and other blood dyscrasias resulting in fatalities. It has also been identified with male infertility, drug-induced lupus erythematosus and an infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome.

http://www.vvi.org/Content/mjournal.htm

Web Sites of interest

Agent Orange Herbicide Exposure

Agent Orange Brief

Burial Benefits

Congressional Legislation

Arlington National Cemetery

American Battle Monuments Commission

Army and Air Force Exchange Service

Army Review Boards Agency

Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Health Affairs)

Air Force Historical Research Agency