The VA has finally gotten regulations out for the water issues at Camp LeJeune!
VA has published regulations to establish presumptions for the service connection (SC) of eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, N.C. The presumption of SC applies to active duty, reserve and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987, and are diagnosed with any of the following conditions:
– Adult leukemia; Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes; Bladder, kidney & liver cancer; Multiple myeloma; Non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, and Parkinson’s disease.
Environmental health experts in VA’s Technical Workgroup conducted comprehensive reviews of scientific evidence, which included analysis and research done by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Environmental Protection Agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the National Toxicology Program, and the National Academies of Science.
Veterans with 30 or more cumulative days of active duty service, at Camp Lejeune during the contamination period are already eligible for certain medical benefits. In the early 1980s, volatile organic compounds, trichloroethylene (TCE), a metal degreaser, and perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning agent, as well as benzene and vinyl chloride, were discovered in two on-base water supply systems at Camp Lejeune. The contaminated wells supplying the water systems were shut down in February 1985. The area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River, including satellite camps and housing areas.
Beginning in March, the disability benefits may supplement VA health care already being provided to eligible veterans who will have to submit evidence of their diagnoses and service information. The estimated taxpayer cost is $2.2 billion over a five-year period. As many as 900,000 service members were potentially exposed to the tainted water, although VA estimates that roughly 23,000 veterans will apply and qualify for the benefits.
HERE is the link to the Federal Register for the actual rule, it becomes effective 15 MAR 2017. Please pass this along to any Marines you know who served at LeJeune during those dates.
And a little history…
Dog tags have a simple purpose; they exist to identify people. The term “dog tag” is informal, but it is the nickname for those two pieces of non-corrosive metal hanging around military personnel’s necks. It is possible to look back through history and find instances of something similar, but dog tags as we know them today did not come about until the mid-1800s. Dog tags contain much more information than just a name. Over time, more and more information has been added enabling them to be as helpful as possible.
Roman Legionnaires had dog tags, called signaculum. They contained very basic information such as a person’s name and group. They were made of lead and had a leather rope attached for wearing around the neck. The Chinese military started using them in the mid-1800s. However, soldiers in the United States fighting in the Civil War had to improvise to identify themselves on the battlefield. They wrote information such as their name and address on a piece of paper and then pinned it to the back of their jacket (on the inside of course). Some soldiers did not do this and instead opted to etch the info into their belts or knapsacks. During the Civil War American businessmen spotted an opportunity. Recognizing there was a market for nametags within the military they advertised pins displaying a soldier’s name, rank, unit and military status. Tags usually had a shield or an eagle on them, along with a phrase that represented war. One of the phrases used was “War for the Union.”
Tags were issued to the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. These had a German nickname “Hundemarken” and were based on an identification system for dogs.
In 1906, the US Army officially began providing them; the British Army followed suit in 1907. US and British tags were made from aluminum. Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand retained the same basic id discs well into the 20th century. 1916 brought a change. Both the US and Britain issued two tags. If a soldier died, one disc was removed to assist with recording the death the other was left with the body for identification once it was removed from the battlefield. It has remained this way with more and more militaries adopting tags.
Every country has different tags, different ways they make them, different materials and even different info. For example:
– Several countries including Canada, Israel and Denmark use tags that break in two.
– The ball chain is the most common necklace to support the tags. In the past a string was often used.
– Most tags are ovals or rectangles.
– The three most common things on the tags are; name, blood type and serial number. Some countries add religious affiliation.
– The Soviet Union did not issue dog tags in WWII. Instead, they opted for a cylinder with a piece of paper in it providing the details. They began issuing oval tags after the war.
Use of dog tags today extends well beyond the military. They have become a fashion accessory and some businesses offer the opportunity to create personalized tags. They are also used within the medical industry since a lot of information can be put on them including patient allergies, blood type, and emergency contacts. These are typically referred to as medical ID tags, but they are the same concept as dog tags.
