C-123 Veterans Presentation to Institute of Medicine 16 January 2013

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Fellow C-123 Veterans:

Opportunity: Friday I was informed by the Institute of Medicine, Agent Orange Committee (part of the National Academy of Sciences) that C-123 veterans have been scheduled for a brief afternoon presentation to the Committee to discuss C-123 Agent Orange contamination.

Background: Congress set up a process in which the VA must consider findings of the Institute of Medicine regarding Agent Orange issues. While their meeting on 16 January does not directly deal with our airplanes, it is our chance to bring the lingering contamination and the VA's stonewalling of our claims to their very public forum.

Under Secretary Allison Hickey

Many of the scientists who have weighed on to support us are well-known to the Committee. These scientists' letter of 29 November to the VA's Under Secretary for Benefits General Hickey firmly reenforced the basis for our VA claims, in particular the input from Dr. Jeanne Stellman, Professor Emerita at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
Dr. Stellman has been a firm supporter of C-123 veterans for this past year, ever since her first independent expert review of the many Air Force tests on Patches and other aircraft. Although the young scientists assigned by the VA to refuse our claims have tried to dismiss Dr. Stellman's findings, the Institute of Medicine knows her very, very well. Her work is cited throughout many of their reports, she has appeared as an exert witness many times, and has also been contracted to do many research projects on Agent Orange as used during the Vietnam War. Conclusion: she knows her stuff and blows away the VA's wonks...they just don't know it! Interesting that none of the VA scientists are cited in these reports. On the other hand, Dr. Stellman and the other experts (from other federal agencies as well as numerous universities) are perfectly objective as scientists and physicians, they have studied the C-123 exposure issue, formed their opinions, which are in favor of the veterans, and they defend that position (and us!) mightily. The only possible response from the VA is to ignore the letter, of course. No surprise. One gets the impression the VA respects only those experts employed by them, whose job it is to construct barriers to veterans' claims. 
Request: We need a volunteer speaker!

We continue to seek venues such as this with the IOM to set right our unfortunate situation - we've been exposed and nothing will change that, yet our duty remains getting our veterans essential care for the typical Agent Orange ailments confronting us. Our Association is looking for one of our vets in the Irvine area to represent us at the University of California meeting on January 16, 2013. If we don't find a "volunteer", I'll do it, flying there from Denver where we're vacationing with our kids. If one of you airline-types can still fit onto a jump seat, want to take this on and save me the airfare? I'll do an outline if you wish, and even text the entire presentation - the IOM has offered to print and distribute to the Committee for us, and place it into their conference records.
Let me know...I have to get my flight and hotel reservation if nobody signs up to volunteer.
Christmas suddenly and horribly changed for so many Connecticut families in Newtown. God bless and keep them all. 
Peace.

Veterans to the VA - help us find a way

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Dear VA - From Us to You:

Isn't there any way leaders within the VA's Compensation and Benefits or Public Health organizations can assist us in narrowly focusing on this problem, and helping our exposed veterans get care while excluding those not involved with C-123 hands-on duty?

Tell us. We're listening, and want to drop this matter from the public forum as soon as possible. Our agenda is honorable and our request just. You're not being fair to us.


Respectfully,

    Your Fellow Veterans

Hagerstown Museum considers buying C-123!

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N681DG,  USAF  54-0681,   SN 20130

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — The Hagerstown Aviation Museum is trying to bring a 55-year-old Fairchild airplane back to the western Maryland city where it was made.President John Seburn says the twin-engine, C-123 cargo plane was built sometime between 1954 and 1958.He says the U.S. Treasury Department has accepted the museum’s bid for the plane.Now the group needs to raise $70,000 to buy it and fly it back from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Seburn says the acquisition would complete the museum’s collection of the three military cargo planes that Fairchild produced.The C-123 was used heavily during the Vietnam War to transport troops and supplies.It was also used for aerial spraying of herbicides, including Agent Orange.The federal government says the risk of exposure to Agent Orange residue is extremely low.(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)C-123 Veteran's Comment: No, the comment "the federal government says the risk of exposure to Agent Orange is extremely low" is incorrect. That is the conclusion of the VA as it seeks to prevent C-123 veterans from receiving medical care for Agent Orange illnesses. In fact, the CDC and the NIH have both taken stands that the aircraft were (and are, for the few remaining planes) "heavily contaminated" and "a danger to public health", as testified by Air Force and GSA officials under oath. While even  official Air Force records are unreliable regarding spray operations, it does seem that Acft 681 is not an Agent Orange spray aircraft - an inspection of the wing roots and area between the engines and fuselage will confirm one way or another.

Christmas Morning Reflections From a C-123 Guy

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"Aren't you bitter?" she asked me. She meant bitter about the VA officials so dedicated to preventing veterans' access to medical care. She meant about the AF officials over the years who dealt with the contaminated C-123 fleet but never bothered to worry about the health of the crews already exposed.

We'd both awakened early this Christmas morning. As we waited for grandbabies to wake up and come to cuddle, our conversation under the warm covers drifted to the theme of the Christmas Eve services we attended here in snowy Denver. That pastor's metaphor addressed having to be led, each of us, many times in our lives - and how we all depend on unseen others, and God, to carry burdens when we are heavy laden.

My wife's question wove the Christmas message into our C-123 battle with the Veterans Administration. I thought about her question while framing an answer (contemplation and preparation are usually not parts of my conversational skill group) - and it was "no, not bitter. Disappointed, tired, weary of the vast amount of information about dioxin and toxicology to deal with - but not bitter."

Even after watching dear friends like Gabby Gadbois die, I'm not bitter. Even after learning of disease heaped upon disease in all the hospital stays I've had this year, with a PICC line still dripping medicine into my heart - not bitter.

Not bitter because there is much to be grateful for, and mostly for others carrying such a mammoth part of the load I'd otherwise be crushed beneath. First and foremost, grateful for my wife picking up responsibilities she'd never imagined having to manage by herself...and not because of any lack of qualification (she's got several more graduate degrees than I do) but by the sheer effort she must expend. All the housework, all the yard work, coordinating refurbishing contractors, leadership as an ordained elder in several church programs, Shelly's House for offenders...and caring for me hand and foot. Literally, as I cannot even put on that my own shoes and socks. She is my rock and my foundation.

So the bitterness leaves me altogether. What I conclude, however, is that we're dealing with people not like us. Not like the officers and NCOs I've served with. Not like George Gadbois. Not like Mike Walker. Not like Bob Boyd or Tim Olmsted. So many VA and Air Force officials just are not like us.

I don't believe I have ever served with an officer who would make battle against us as have the VA officials who sat around the conference table twice this year. I know I have never served with officers and NCOs who would learn of such a health hazard as our exposure yet somehow not to notify the crews involved or accept an order to hide the information from them. "Hell, NO" would have been the response from anyone I've ever known. Not the kind of American officer or American NCO that this Nation trusts us to be and hopes we will be faced with hard decisions.

We are not the kind of officers who would have tolerated Abu Grahib. We are the officers who in honor would have stopped it, at pistol point if necessary. We are not the officers who would fail our wingman - ever. We are the soldiers who truly carry our honor and our country's values into the military. Trash haulers, perhaps. Freeloaders - never. We are American soldiers. We were the kind of solders who mastered basic,  flight school, survival schools, the misery of SERE school up at Fairchild, and seemingly unending trips away from the family...all we wanted was to serve.

VA decision makers? Not to paint them all with the same brush, but too many are not at all like us. "Benefit of the doubt?" They pretend, nothing more.

A Request of VA and USAF leadership: Don't laugh because of our airplane - it is what you ordered us to fly. We've all flown many other planes, but somehow, like Medal of Honor holder Joe Jackson, we remain "C-123 guys" just like the C-123 will forever remain "the Agent Orange airplane." We flew the plane we were tasked to fly because AF leaders we trusted said that old bird, and our skills aboard it, were vital to the nation's defense. We certainly proved it during REFORGER exercises! Guys like Gail French proved it bringing in Tail #707 in flames, earning the DFC the hard way. Guys like Charlie Brown who came back from Hanoi proved it by putting on a flight suit again and quietly served with us. We earned the Airborne's Iron Mike award! The Army truly loved us, and after all the Army was JOB ONE as our primary customer in wartime. Of course, it would have been very nice if the C-123 had been engineered with some sort of commode and at least a Mr. Coffee! Maybe even an autopilot? Alas.

Merry Christmas from Wes

Agent Orange? Nobody knew the bill we'd be handed over this mess, but it is what it is. The intolerable part, the painful part, is now being treated as pariah by the VA - treated thus by people who are not like us. Fellow vets, don't be bitter. We are trying hard to carry the issue and we have so many helping carry the load with us - American Legion. Vietnam Veterans, leaders like Senators Burr and Merkley with their staffs, scientists and physicians across America.

Who knows? We might even have a secretly sympathetic ear somewhere within the VA...an ear which may someday hear our voices, out here in the wilderness where we trying, trying so very hard not to be bitter.

Dear VA, USAF, fellow Veterans and your families - God Bless & keep you, and Merry Christmas.

VA Resists C-123 Veterans' FOIA for Agent Orange Data

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Early last year, LtCol Paul Bailey submitted our formal FOIA (Freedom of Information Act request) to the Veterans Administration, seeking information about how VA officials managed their participation in two meetings with C-123 veterans hosted by Senator Burr's staff in Washington DC. Our request to the Air Force for their materials had been granted earlier. It is our fear that the VA participants approached the question of C-123 dioxin contamination with a mindset of denial, rather than even-handed scientific concern. In went our FOIA as we hoped to learn about how we were treated at the meetings.

Result? $5000 in pushback from the VA as they denied the perfectly valid appeal! To prevent us getting information about ourselves. $5000 to make sure we'd never get it! $5000 to make sure veterans would never learn that VA officials approached our concerns about Agent Orange exposure with a determination not to uncover the truth, but instead to construct any argument necessary to prevent our access to VA medical care and benefits. Our concerns for this FOIA focused on uncovering all the information located by the VA, how they interpreted it, what instructions they gave their officials and whether those instructions were neutral or whether those instructions were to

Government agencies usually can't bury information like this without running up against the FOIA itself, but obviously there are times when the requested information might cause bureaucrats discomfort. This seem to be one of those instances. Solution? Delay. Delay. Delay. Delays then followed by charging prohibitive fees for the information requested! That's the VA solution to keep embarrassing information out of the hands of C-123 veterans.

But we have rights and options, and one was to appeal the VA's pricing and refusal to provide an expedited response. Paul submitted that appeal in May and the GSA took until late November to get around to refusing it..again! They claimed the FOIA law required VA to charge us because only journalistic, educational, and not-for-profit requests can be free. Another free category - information requested is in the public interest and informs the public of how the government operates. VA's Assistant General Counsel Deborah McCallum wrote Paul about her refusal to grant his appeal even though we were fully justified, but she was also required to tell us of a final route for an appeal before going to court: The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) acts as a final arbiter of our rights to this information - and so we submitted our appeal on behalf of The C-123 Veterans Association on December 24, 2012.

In this last out-of-court appeal, we explained our journalistic presence in the form of blogs, web sites and newsletters, We explained that the public is intensely interested in both Agent Orange and veterans health care. We explained that we have no commercial interest in the requested materials, and that the Air Force honored an identical request, using the same FOIA law and regulations, and that the information is, after all, about US!

 In it, we explained the justification for our FOIA and the reasons its denial were improper. Now...we are waiting once again. The impact: we won't have the data in time for the 15 Jan 2013 briefing we are scheduled to give the Institute of Medicine's Agent Orange committee, but we will have both the VA and the Air Force extensive collections of materials ready to give Congress early in 2013 as we continue our struggle.

So...more waiting, more hoping. Keep the faith!

EPA & Consumer Product Safety Commission Collaborate to Research Health Impacts of Nanomaterials

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http://us.mg205.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.partner=sbc&.gx=1&.rand=8g3r2cbiv13ku
WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are collaborating in a worldwide research effort to assess any potential impacts of nanomaterials on people’s health and the environment. Nanomaterials appear in many household products ranging from clothing to building materials. For example, one ongoing study evaluates the potential human and environmental effects from exposure to copper nanomaterials, an ingredient in wood treatment products used on wood for building decks and fences.
 
The emerging field of nanotechnology has led to substantial advances in energy, medicine, electronics, and clean technologies. The field relies on using materials at the nanoscale level, these nanomaterials are made up of very small particles, which are about 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Because of the unique properties of these materials, it is important to conduct research to identify methods that will allow manufacturers and other stakeholders to ensure that products containing these materials do not harm people or the environment. 
 
“Nanotechnology and nanomaterials used in the development of these products improve our everyday lives, but it is important that we understand how humans are exposed to nanomaterials and to assess the risks they may pose to people’s health and the environment,” said Dr. Tina Bahadori, national program director for EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability Research. “This innovative research greatly improves what is known about nanomaterials and will inform the future design of more sustainable, effective nanomaterials.” 
 
“These tiny nanomaterials are widely used in products ranging from clothing to sunscreen, but the need for additional research and knowledge on how they affect consumers is great. The CPSC staff is working diligently to meet the challenges involved in regulating this emerging technology and is pleased to be collaborating with staff at EPA to develop test methods and exposure data to adequately address health and safety concerns” said Dr. Treye Thomas, program manager for the CPSC Nanotechnology program.
 
EPA's collaborative research with CSPC is part of a larger international effort that focuses on: 

• Identifying, characterizing and quantifying the origins of nanomaterials
• Studying biological processes affected by nanomaterials that could influence risk
• Determining how nanomaterials interact with complex systems in the human body and the environment
• Involving industry to develop sustainable manufacturing processes
• Sharing knowledge through innovative online applications that allow for rapid feedback and accelerated research progress

CPSC, in working with other federal agencies, ensures that common public health concerns are met and will use research findings to inform: 

• Protocol development to assess the potential release of nanomaterials from consumer products 
• Credible rules for consumer product testing to evaluate exposure
• Determination of the potential public health impacts of nanomaterial used in consumer products

This research is a part of the U.S. government’s efforts to assess the potential risks of nanomaterials. These efforts are coordinated by the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). NNI is a collaborative project comprised of 25 agencies, including EPA and CPSC. 

More information about EPA’s nanomaterials research: http://www.epa.gov/nanoscience/ 

More information about CPSC’s nanomaterials research:   http://www.nano.gov/node/139

More information about the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative:  http://www.nano.gov/

Google Launches VetNet Website - New resource hub for transitioning veterans

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 Google recently launched "VetNet," an online hub to help American men and women exiting the military. The site offers veterans three distinct "tracks" to plot and organize their next life moves – from "basic training," which aids job hunters; to "career connections," which links users to corporate mentors and other working veterans; to "entrepreneur," which offers a roadmap to starting a business. Google partnered with three leading nonprofits in veteran employment to create the new website: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes program, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, and Hire Heroes USA.To access VetNet, click here.