Skip to content

2012 Report of the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force (GWVI-TF)

The Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force (GWVI-TF) was set up to address the specific and unique concerns of Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War Era. The focus of the GWVI-TF is to develop and integrate new knowledge into services that will directly benefit Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

The 2012 Report of the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force (GWVI-TF) is located at: http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/Draft_2012_GWVI-TF_Report.pdf

Over the past year, the GWVI-TF has continued to work to improve care and services to Gulf War Veterans. The work has proceeded around a premise that the efforts must become a part of the culture and ongoing operations of VA and not simply the purview of a special Task Force. To accomplish this goal, the GWVI-TF solidified the framework for organizing and synchronizing its efforts. That framework serves as the overarching template for this report. The framework is composed of the seven lines of effort listed below. These seven lines provide the framework of the 2011 and 2012 reports. VA welcomes your comments and suggestions regarding the report in each these areas. Please select the link(s) below and provide us your feedback on this important report.

- Clinical Care: Leveraging Veteran-Centric Specialty Services in Primary Care

- Clinical Education and Training: Putting Clinical Knowledge Into Practice

- Veteran Benefits: Delivering Compensation and Pension and Fiduciary Services

- Veteran Outreach: Improving Communications to Gulf War Veterans

- Partnerships: Improved Data Sharing with the Department of Defense

- Ongoing Scientific Review and Surveillance: Taking Advantage of Untapped

- Sources of Data Related to Veterans’ Health

- Research and Development: Encouraging Targeted Efforts

Thank you for your continued service and for helping VA to improve the services to this important Veteran group.

59 results found

  1. Sleep Apnea should be a Presumptive Condition for Gulf War Vets

    Sleep Apnea should be made a Presumptive Condition for All Gulf War Veterans! Every Gulf War Vet I know has Sleep Apnea, including myself. Currently, "Undiagnosed Sleep Disturbances" are considered a presumptive for us, but good luck getting a VA Doc to diagnose you with an "Undiagnosed" condition. Diagnosed Sleep Apnea is prevalant in the Gulf War Vet population, and should be service connectable on a presumptive basis.

    371 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  46 comments  ·  Admin →
  2. Use the Gulf war registry, use the GW vtes problem lists. There is many things we have wrong, that is common between us.

    The data is there, stop trying to reinvent the wheel every time. We all have sleep problems, a combination of no rem sleep, and central sleep apneas, yet every doc wants all of us to go through trying all the meds, even though they have not worked for other GW vets. Recognize sleep disturbances w/ sleep apnea, as compensable illnesses. We all have bad migraines, yet some get compensation, and others don't, depends on the way the wind was blowing when the RQ decided the claim.
    Do some meaningful nationwide research on our problems. Not this stuff of mindfullness training,…

    318 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  3. Late showing of symptoms

    Most of returned without signs or symptoms so we did not report to sick call on active duty. Now, with symptoms that are reported in GW reports, vets are denied because of NOT reporting conditions while on active duty.

    247 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  4. veterans benefits: hire and train more personnel to do compensation and pension claims .

    most regional offices only have two to three people doing claims ratings so let hire and train more people to stop the backlog of claim.

    226 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  3 comments  ·  Admin →
  5. How about adding anyone who worked around equipment from the Persian Gulf War to the Persian Gulf Registry

    VA needs to include anyone that was not in the Gulf who worked around equipment used in the Gulf War (Reserves used equipment) to the Gulf Registry and if have symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome to be compensated. I worked around equipment at my Reserve unit that was used in the Gulf War and have many exact same things that Gulf War Syndrome Vets have. The Reserves kept the equipment that was in Kuwait and Saudi and just kept repairing it even though it was contaminated.

    199 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  2 comments  ·  Admin →
  6. STOP blamming it all on age and fat,,,,,

    I been told ever since I left active duty that all my problems were from something other that what I contracted from over there. It's al because I failed to complain about it right off cause I had to much self respect to report it.....we were frowned upon for looking for help and was told nothing was wrong with us when we did look for help.....Now all my problems are blamed on something other than what the military caused in me. I spend most of my time getting test done and taking more medicines than I should be cause they…

    190 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  7. Diabetes and desert storm is also an issue!

    Check on linking diabetes to list of medical illnesess from Desert Shield and Storm, a lot of vets have it ,munitions, oil, fires, PB etc etc.

    176 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  8. STOP THE LIES! LISTEN TO GULF WAR VETS! (REMEMBER VIETNAM/AGENT ORANGE)

    Listen to the truth. Testimony by Gulf War Vet Anthony HardieVA staff must be forced by law to seek out, foster, and find the best Gulf War Illness treatment research aimed at improving the health and lives of those whose health has been impacted by their wartime exposures. To that and related ends, Congress should develop and pass legislation that includes:

    1) A provision making it a crime punishable by federal imprisonment for a government employee or contractor to attempt to manipulate an IOM report ordered by a government agency, or for an IOM employee or member to conspire with…

    145 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  9. Veteran Benefits: Delivering Compensation and Pension and Fiduciary Services

    As research and environmental study evolves or new legislative and regulatory provisions are written regarding illnesses for Gulf War Veterans, the VA Compensation Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) performs necessary rule-making and develops field training to support the changes. To further assist Gulf War Veterans, Compensation Service provides training letters designed to inform and instruct regional office personnel on development and adjudication of disability claims based on Southwest Asia service. VBA continues to work with the VA/DoD Deployment Health Working Group to identify environmental exposures whether related to the Gulf War or elsewhere. Finally, VBA continued to work…

    106 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  10. Dont tell us that its our work or way of life.

    We are Proud Vets, We don't come to you because we want you to make us feel all warm and cuddly. We are not stupid either. We see our coworkers do the same job as we do, our friends doing the same chores. But they are not wrecked at the end of the day or simply cant do it.

    66 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  11. Find a link, because I know it is there, I know to many vets who are like me

    Common Symptoms include PTSD(some mild, some worse), antisocial behavior( not violent but more of a desire just to be alone), exhaustion to the point of having Chronic Fatigue syndrome symptoms, and nightmare or vivid dreams. Brothers, thanks for doing what you do and remember you are not alone.

    64 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  4 comments  ·  Admin →
  12. Veteran Outreach: Improving Communications to Gulf War Veterans

    VA is dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans of all eras and their eligible family members and survivors by providing them with the benefits and services they have earned. Research shows there is a lack of awareness when it comes to specific services, and Gulf War Veterans continue to require and rightfully expect timely and accurate information about VA’s efforts to support them. VA uses other means, including social media, to get information out. VHA’s OPH collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention (CDC) to obtain Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) mailing addresses for the entire list…

    62 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  13. Use the CDC medicaly accepted definition of CFS.

    The VA is still using outdated criteria to diagnose someone with CFS. Soldiers are being discharged from the Military, having been diagnosed with CFS, then when they go to the VA, they are told they do not meet the criteria.

    VA definition.
    For VA purposes, the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome requires:
    (A) New onset of debilitating fatigue severe enough to reduce daily activity to less than 50 percent of the usual level for at least 6 months; and
    (B) The exclusion, by history, physical examination, and laboratory tests, of all other clinical conditions that may produce similar symptoms; and…

    49 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  14. Review Gulf war veterans Children/Spouses for possible defects due to GWI.

    This was also a lost cause, the VA could not identify the veterans who where exposed. Do we really believe you checked our love one's. We the malingerers (As we have been referred to in the past) who have ,joint pain's,abnormal lab reading's, gained weight,lost weight, IBS,ALS,diabetic, Dypsnea,sleep apneas, PTSD,fibro,MS,spasms,arthritis,bone spurs and a host of other issues are tired of the BS. Justice for all. “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his
    widow, and his orphan,”

    46 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  15. Create a Desert Storm Veterans Group

    A group of Veterans that served in Desert Storm that experience the illness that We are suffering even when We left The Military, share any treatment available to others Veterans.

    45 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  2 comments  ·  Admin →
  16. Use full array of qualified, certified VSOs to process claims...not just VA employees

    There is no reason to have all the county and state VSOs twidling their thumbs while many VA employees are complacent, unqualified, or overworked.

    33 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  4 comments  ·  Admin →
  17. Set up a forum for the docs, let all docs treating us, have a stake in the research.

    Set up a forum, specifically for the docs treating the gulf war vets. Let them discuss amongst each other what problems they see, and what they find that works, and does not work.
    Have researchers post their findings, and let the docs discuss their implications.
    Several GWI researchers have proven that we have brain damage, yet none of my docs know, or care.
    We all have complex migraine issues, yet we all have to start out with Tylenol for 6 months, to prove it is not helpful.

    32 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  18. Research and Development: Encouraging Targeted Efforts

    Through the Office of Research & Development (ORD), VA funds research that will further the goal of improving the health and lives of Veterans who have GWVI, including the complex of chronic symptoms that affect Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

    Please provide your comments, questions, and suggestion on how we may improve the Research and Development section of the report.

    32 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  19. Train VA doctors and nurse practitioners better about Gulf War related illness

    Train VA doctors and nurse practitioners better about Gulf War related illness. My primary doctor (nurse practitioner) told me she does not believe that chronic fatigue syndrome is real…….

    26 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
  20. Work with VA to develop a presumptive for the issues we are experiencing.

    The current presumptives and DBQ's have so many overlapping symptoms it is very subjective as which symptom belongs. Due to a symptom only being able to be compensated once due to pyrimiding. As for the current presumptives CFS, IBS and Fibro all being diagnosis of elimination and no effective treatment for these it is little wonder doctors both VA and outside question these as a diagnosis.

    The undiagnosed illness presumptive under 3.317 is problematic due to really varied medical opinions and mutiple opinions requested that are differnt one each symptom. VA systemwide has been very inconsistant in awarding service connection…

    25 votes
    Vote

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    You have left! (?) (thinking…)
    started  ·  0 comments  ·  Admin →
← Previous 1 3

2012 Report of the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force (GWVI-TF)

Categories

Feedback and Knowledge Base