please review my next editorial..on the back of Bachmann's vet support - Blue/Brown Water vet care

[w8liftinglady]

During the course of the Viet Nam War, several hundred thousand sailors were assigned to Blue Water and Brown Water vessels.They were involved in patrolling the Vietnamese coastal waters and inland rivers.This high-risk assignment had a large casualty rate. Unfortunately,the casualties didn't stop when the war ended. Many were exposed to Agent Orange during their deployment.

From 1962 to 1971, the United States military sprayed 20,000,000 gallons of chemical herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia, as part of the aerial defoliation program known as Operation Ranch Hand.Many,if not most, of the American troops deployed have been exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin.

Signs/symptoms of Agent Orange exposure have been amended over the decades. The most detrimental complications are MULTIPLE types of cancers,Parkinson's Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease in previously healthy veterans.

Brown Water AND Blue Water veterans have been fighting for decades to get VA service-related compensation for Agent Orange exposure during their deployment.

The DoD and VA had tried many times to renege on and amend what qualified as an "In Country" assignment. The major corporations who manufactured Agent Orange/Dioxin have been absolved from guilt in court cases. Approximately 17,000 Blue and Brown Water veterans have had their claims denied(not including surviving spouses).

The Committee on Veterans Affairs has within the last few weeks clarified which vessels qualify for Agent Orange exposure.The list can be found here:

http://www.bluewaternavy.org/shiplist3.pdf

If you are a Blue or Brown Water veteran or the surviving spouse of a Blue or Brown Water veteran,please reapply for VA service-related benefits. You may find more information on application here:

http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/

Your country owes you belated gratitude for YOUR service during wartime,too.