Veterans who served at secret base say it made them sick, but they can't get aid because the government won't acknowledge they were there
Veterans who served at secret base say it made them sick, but they can't get aid because the government won't acknowledge they were there
The mission was so under wraps that Ely said he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
So that was probably just the SF 312. The NDA anyone who gets a US military clearance signs saying they won't reveal classified info. There are other NDAs US military sign sometimes but they usually have to deal with proprietary commercial info. This line seems weird because signing an NDA as a military member is pretty much required for most duties.
From the article is sounds like toxic chemicals and radiation. And since it was in the 80s the chemicals probably aren't still classified.
Other government employees who were stationed in the same area, mainly from the Department of Energy, have been aided by $25.7 billion in federal assistance, according to publicly available statistics from the Department of Labor. But those benefits don't apply to Air Force veterans like Ely and Crete.
Definitely if the DoE (responsible for the US's nuclear arsenal and power plants) is providing treatment. So this sounds like the VA is just not wanting to treat people which is fucking dumb. They don't need to acknowledge the location of the cause of the injury, just identify and treat the injuries and illnesses.
That's how it should be, yeah. But some people say "well you have to prove that it was service-connected!" and if the service is classified, you can't.
Really, we should just have universal healthcare so that this isn't even a question in the first place.
It’s tied to VA compensation, which is why it’s an issue. Otherwise they would agree it’s service connected and help you out.
When I was seeking help for my deployment related PTSD, they sent me a bill. “The fuck is this?” Well, you have to file a claim. I filed, three times. Every time they lost it, file again.
Eventually got it done a few years ago after the process changed, but it’s so stupid.
A pretty typical VA issue.
My dad was drafted, went to Vietnam, and many years later developed ALS - somewhat recently added to the "Always covered for vets" list, as being a veteran in any war doubles the risk of ALS.
The battle to prove it was ALS though was insane, had to be done outside of the VA with specialists (it is still rare, of course, so not many out there can actually give a diagnosis), and took about a year from blatant symptoms to diagnosis, and then another few months of VA paperwork to get coverage and other things he was owed.
Not a new problem unfortunately, and certainly not unique to this situation. Just another kind of symptom of another kind of problem.
Veterans and fetuses are useless to politicians once they are out
Even if they acknowledge that they were there, they would still deny your claim. Then they will ask you to prove it was toxic there.
My first real dose of “these people fucking lie” was when we were sent to New Orleans after Katrina. We had just gotten off a deployment, almost no equipment except our weapons, and we took a tour bus there because I was told “get there however possible”.
It turned from a humanitarian mission to a full on disaster en route, and our mission changed. While down there, we were shot at multiple times, received almost no aid until big army showed up, and protected what remained of the city. Three cops stayed, that was it. I know, ACAB, but these guys were there to genuinely help the people while the rest of their department hid. They were so happy to see us grunts.
People took pot shots at us, we ended up commandeering a NG “Base” (no idea what their building was called) and using their vehicles. We returned fire a few times, but didn’t treat it like OIF/OEF. Usually a couple shots back made whomever was feeling froggy leave.
Then we hear the general talk about it upon getting home. “No one fired a bullet, not one service member took fire. It was a great help!” Mother fucker, no. We had hillbillies driving to our checkpoints wanting to come into the city to shoot black people (their words, although they used slurs that I had never heard) Mexican standoff style when we told them to leave, and then shooting over our heads when they got down the road. It was a ridiculous sequence of events.
Generals: “Nothing happened and we all gave hugs!”
Deny Deny Deny. The pentagon's fight song.
The left and the right just do not care enough to fix this problem
American left: "Might the noble job creators spare a pittance of their fortune that they, and they alone, earned and were entitled to based on their unique brilliance?"
Left anywhere else: "Bootlickers."
That's some catch, that catch 22.
reason #838 not to work on a US government secret project, right next to "trump will leak all that shit to a foreign government and you will be killed"
One of the few good things that man has ever done.