Local Persian Gulf War Veterans may qualify for additional VA Benefits
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is mailing out letters to veterans within our area, informing them of a recent legislative change and that they may be eligible for additional benefits. Wayne County DAV Commander Jeff Morgan of Chapter 105 (who also serves as District Commander) received correspondence from the Evidence Intake Center and encourages all veterans to read the information below. Whether you have actually received a letter from Veterans Affairs or not, look into this matter and see how it affects you.
This past year, President Biden signed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson honoring our Promise to Address
the Comprehensive Toxic Act of 2022, also known as the PACT Act. The recent legislation removed the manifestation period and it’s compensable level requirement for certain disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf War Veterans and also expanded locations for Persian Gulf War Veterans and also expanded the list of presumptive conditions and timeframes for certain diseases associated with burn pits and toxic exposures.
If you were previously denied for disability compensation benefits, you may now be eligible and are encouraged to apply if you are a Persian Gulf War Veteran and you have an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness.
A Persian Gulf War Veteran now includes service in Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Jordan along with those who served in the Southwest Theatre of operations which includes Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red sea and the airspace above these locations.
Any ‘Covered Veteran’ who performed active military, naval, air or space service while assigned to a duty station in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oan, Qatar, saudi Arabia, Somalia or the United Arab Emirates on or after August 2nd of 1990 or provided service in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen or Uzbekistan on or after
September 11th of 2001 may be eligible for compensation benefits and are encouraged to apply.
The following conditions listed below are now presumptively associated with exposure to burn pits and other toxins for Covered Veterans: Conditions of brain cancer, gastrointestinal cancer of any type, glioblastoma, head cancer of any type, kidney cancer, lymphoma tic cancer of any type, lymphoma cancer of any type, melanoma, neck cancer of any type, pancreatic cancer, reproductive cancer of any type, respiratory cancer of any type, asthma that was diagnosed after service, chronic bronchitis, COPD, chronic rhinitis or sinusitis, constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease or interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis or sarcoidosis. (If you are a veteran and have already filed a disability compensation claim based on the PACT Act, disregard this information.)
If you have not previously submitted a disability compensation claim and would like to do so, submit VA Form 21-526EZ. If you were found eligible for disability, submit VA Form 20-0995. You may also submit additional evidence, such as medical records or a biopsy report with your application. Documentation may be submitted by mail, in person at the VA Regional Office or electronically. More information is available online at va.gov or by calling the DAV Office in Louisville at 505-566-4485.
