Women and the Draft

Young ladies who celebrate their 18th birthday starting in 2018 might have another little chore to do after the party: register for the draft. Not the kind that blows through a room on a cold night but the military draft. The US Senate on June 14th passed a military policy bill that would, for the first time, require young women to register with the Selective Service for the draft. This provision was included as part of the massive 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that easily passed in the Senate with an 85-13 vote. Indiana's senators Donnelly and Coats both voted for the bill.

Why you ask? Well in December, Defense Secretary Ash Carter stated that the Pentagon would open all combat jobs to women. The military brass then suggested to Congress that women should also sign up for the draft. Women who fail to register would be subject to the same penalties that currently exist for men, including ineligibility for federal financial aid, including Pell grants.

Its a little early to think about what branch of the service you want to join or what color camouflage you might like because this bill still has to go to the House of Representatives. There the Senate and House bills will be reconciled in a conference committee where a heated debate is expected.

It is very unlikely that a draft will be instituted anytime soon. The last time the draft was used was over forty years ago in 1973 during the Vietnam War. Israel is currently the only country in the world with a mandatory service requirement for women. Mandatory conscription for single and married women without children began in 1948. Our present armed forces are all voluntary and women in uniform make up 19%  of the military.

A recent article in US News and World Report stated: "Yes, women are daughters, wives, sisters and mothers. But they are also soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and American citizens from every walk of life. Ultimately, facts, not emotions, must rule the day when it comes to deciding what is best for national defense."

TMI VA Claim Denied - McDonald Gives Second Chance

VA Secretary Provides Relief for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald has granted equitable relief to more than 24,000 Veterans following a national review of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) medical examinations conducted in connection with disability compensation claims processed between 2007 and 2015. This action by the Secretary allows the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer new TBI examinations to Veterans whose initial examination for TBI was not conducted by one of four designated medical specialists and provides them with the opportunity to have their claims reprocessed. Equitable relief is a unique legal remedy that allows the Secretary to correct an injustice to a claimant where VA is not otherwise authorized to do so within the scope of the law. “Traumatic Brain Injury is a signature injury in Veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and VA is proud to be an organization that sets the bar high for supporting these, and all, Veterans,” said Secretary McDonald. “Providing support for Veterans suffering from a TBI is a priority and a privilege, and we must make certain they receive a just and fair rating for their disabilities.” To ensure that TBI is properly evaluated for disability compensation purposes, VA developed a policy in 2007 requiring that one of four specialists – a psychiatrist, psychiatrist, neurosurgeon or neurologist – complete TBI exams when VA does not have a prior diagnosis. Since 2007, medicine around TBI has been a rapidly evolving science. VA designated particular specialists to conduct initial TBI exams because they have the most experience with the symptoms and effects of TBI. As more research became available, VA issued a number of guidance documents that may have created confusion regarding the policy. VA has confirmed that its TBI policy guidance is now clear and being followed. “We let these Veterans down,” Secretary McDonald said. “That is why we are taking every step necessary to grant equitable relief to those affected to ensure they receive the full benefits to which they are entitled.” VA understands the importance of an accurate exam to support Veterans’ disability claims. The Secretary’s decision to grant relief will enable VA to take action on any new examinations without requiring Veterans to submit new claims. If additional benefits are due, VA will award an effective date as early as the date of the initial TBI claim. VA will contact Veterans identified as part of this national TBI review to offer them an opportunity to receive a new examination and have their claims reprocessed. More than 13,000 of these affected Veterans are already receiving service-connected compensation benefits for TBI at a 10-percent disability evaluation or higher, which means that the diagnosis has already been established.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is approaching quickly and activity has been picking up in my office as American flags are picked up by service organizations and individuals. Henry County makes available the funds to purchase over 5,000 graveside flags. Every veteran grave in Henry County has a flag placed beside it before Memorial Day. This is just one way our veterans are honored.

Many schools invite veterans to attend Veterans Day programs. Restaurants give veterans discounts or free meals. Stores give discounts on purchases with proper ID.  A military Honor Guard is present at most veterans funerals.  These are just  a few ways that our veterans are remembered.

But what makes a veteran?  He is the teenager that crossed the ocean in the bowels of a transport ship to fight the Germans during WW II.  The young lady that cared for wounded soldiers at the battle front as they were brought into field hospitals. The young B-25 belly gunner who had his canopy shot from under him by German fighters planes and ended up hanging under the plane in his harness. The bomber continued to the target and returned to its airfield in England safely. The young lieutenant who led his platoon through the jungles and swamps of Vietnam looking for Viet Cong.

The young woman Marine who traveled across Iraq from village to village promoting good will and handing out soccer balls to children. The Air Force crew chief  who flew aboard bombers that dropped atomic bombs during Operation Teapot in the 50's. The teenage sailor who was aboard a warship that was sunk during a WW II sea battle in the Pacific.  Was rescued, assigned to another ship that was torpedoed. Survived still again, and yes, his last ship was sunk. All these veterans are Henry County residents and have done things a non veteran can't imagine. 

Not all of us were involved in combat but were an important element that supported the troops in harms way: supply, medical, training, intelligence, finance, chaplains, flight crews, electronics, mechanics, judicial, munitions, technicians, etc. The list goes on and on.

The young mother of two in the checkout line, or the elderly gentleman sharing coffee and conversation with friends at a local restaurant just might be veterans. Think about that this Memorial Day and everyday.
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A documentary about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is coming to Indianapolis  on Tuesday May 24 at 7 p.m. for one night only. "Soledad O' Brian Presents: The War Comes Home - The New Battlefront." This film follows two veterans on the edge of suicide as they attend a life-changing boot camp. Healing, meditation and team-building exercises are part of the treatment over the course of five days, with the cameras recording their recovery.

The documentary will be shown at AMC Indianapolis 17 at 4325 South Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN. Call (317) 784-0989 for ticket information.

Service Connected Disabilities, File Now

The VA is similar to a tree with many branches. They offer health care at clinics and hospitals, educational benefits, a variety of pensions, VA home loans and disability benefits, among other things.

The majority of veterans who come in asking about disability benefits served in Vietnam.  Most want to file an Agent Orange claim. The VA defines the defoliant as " a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 during Operation Ranch Hand in the Vietnam War to remove trees and dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover."

The name “Agent Orange” comes from the orange stripe painted on the 55-gallon drums the pesticide was stored in. Vets were sprayed with it while on combat operations,  around perimeter of bases. Overspray drifted onto ships that were supporting troop operations in the Mekong Delta and inland waterways. It was everywhere.

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Thousands of vets eventually came down with medical conditions as a result of contact with AO.  Now they are in need of help and medical care. Type II diabetes, ischemic heart disease, pancreatic cancer, neuropathy are some of the medical conditions that are related to Agent Orange.

Then there are injuries and wounds that are a result of combat operations or accidents that occur will serving.  If a vet was awarded a Purple Heart, they are entitled to full medical benefits from the day of discharge.

If you feel you have a medical condition or service connected injury that occurred while in the military, stop by my office in the Henry County Courthouse and we can talk about it. Please bring a discharge (DD-214) and any relevant evidence.

My office hours are 7 am till noon, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. E mail jguglielmi@henryco.net or 765-529-4305.

Decades Later, Agent Orange Catches Up with Vietnam Veterans

Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY | Feb 28, 2016 | by Don Wilkins

Snow fell outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 696 as its members held their monthly meeting Feb. 9.

Although attendance was down, most of those present were Vietnam veterans receiving some percentage of disability benefits from their exposure to Agent Orange -- a herbicide sprayed by the United States military during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.

Among them were Billy Milan, Lou Drawdy and Terry Stinson.

They were like thousands of other Vietnam vets who returned home unaware that they had been exposed to the same toxic dioxin that was meant to combat their enemies -- the Viet Cong guerrillas and the North Vietnamese Army, known as "Charlie" to US forces.

Now, decades later, Agent Orange is catching up with Vietnam veterans, leading to debilitating and deadly health problems that range from heart disease to various forms of cancer.

The three men said they were proud veterans but, like many of their comrades, struggle with their Vietnam experience because they live every day with a multitude of illnesses stemming from Agent Orange exposure.

"It was bad enough that you were over there, and Charlie didn't like you," said Drawdy, 73, who served as a Marine and whose diabetes has been attributed to Agent Orange. "... Then you find that all of the hazards that you were exposed to, that maybe, the US government didn't like you."

Stinson, 64, served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 as an Air Force aircraft mechanic, working and flying on planes that sprayed Agent Orange.

"I started showing signs when I was 26 years old," said Stinson, who is a severe diabetic due to his exposure. "...Now, here I am 64 years old and I'm taking seven insulin shots a day. ... I can't feel my feet anymore."

Milan, 73, served several tours in Vietnam as part of the Army's Special Forces, 173rd and 101st Infantry Divisions. His first tour was in 1962 and his last in 1971.

"I thought I was a resident of Vietnam," said Milan, who receives 100 percent service-connected disability benefits for high blood pressure, an irregular heart beat and post traumatic stress disorder. "... I knew something was wrong because when the planes flew over to spray for mosquitoes and (the foliage) there was a different smell to it. ...So I had a taste of the Agent Orange."

Lasting Agent Orange Effects

It wasn't until 1991 that Congress passed the Agent Orange Act that gave the Department of Veterans Affairs the power to declare certain health conditions as "presumptive" to dioxin exposure.

The VA, however, doesn't have an accurate count of how many Vietnam veterans suffer from Agent Orange exposure.

"I can't get the Agent Orange statistics because it's not a general diagnosis," said Beth Lamb, Marion, Illinois VA public affairs spokeswoman.

In Daviess County, there is no shortage of Vietnam veterans who are either suffering or dying from exposure to the herbicide.

John Yates used to be involved with local veterans organizations such as the VFW, but his health has declined to the point that he rarely leaves his Cedar Hills home.

He now draws 100 percent disability benefits from his service-connected congestive heart failure and diabetes.

He served in Vietnam as a Navy hospital corpsman with the Third Marine Division from 1968 to 1969.

"I was out in the bush all the time," Yates, 71, recalled. "...I slept on the ground and drank from the streams. The Agent Orange was all over."

He now functions by taking a daily regimen of medications used to control his plethora of health problems he says were caused by his exposure.

"The medications help, but you still hurt and you still suffer," said Yates, whose calendar is filled with doctors' appointments.

To help flag any changes in her husband's condition, Cecelia Yates tracks his medical information by recording it in a notebook daily.

The Yateses blame the Agent Orange effects for John Yates' early retirement from his job as an educator in 2007.

"He's frustrated and angry because he feels like he was robbed," Cecilia Yates said. "He loved teaching, and that just broke his heart when he had to quit."

Agent Orange -- named for the color of the metal drums in which the chemical was stored -- was the main herbicide the US Air Force used to reduce the jungle canopies as part of "Operation Ranch Hand."

An estimated 19 million gallons were sprayed over 20 percent of Vietnam in an attempt to uncover roads and trails used by the Viet Cong.

Sharon Westerfield watched her late husband, Larry Westerfield, struggle with the effects of Agent Orange for the last seven years of his life. Larry Westerfield died in 2012 at age 63 of congestive heart failure.

He served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 as a member of the Army's 14th Engineer Battalion.

"After they sprayed the Agent Orange, he went in with a dozer and knocked down the foliage," Sharon Westerfield said. "So it was all over him."

According to Sharon Westerfield, it wasn't until 2005 that her husband discovered that there was something wrong.

"He had stubbed his big toe," she said. "...And one morning about 3 o'clock, he said, 'I think you're going to have to take me to the hospital.' So when I looked at his toe, it was black. ...They were able to save his leg but they took his big toe and part of his foot. He had trouble with that forever. He was at the wound center all the way up to the day he died."

Sharon Westerfield said her husband was then diagnosed with diabetes and learned through an Internet search that Agent Orange exposure was a related cause.

"It was like a domino effect," said Westerfield after her husband's diabetes diagnosis.

Larry Westerfield underwent open heart surgery for five bypasses in 2006, followed by bladder failure in 2009 and skin cancer in 2010.

Before dying two years later, Sharon Westerfield said her husband's congestive heart failure would cause fluid to build up throughout his body.

"His was so bad that his legs would swell up, and water would seep out," she said. "He couldn't sleep in a bed from 2005 until he passed. He slept in a recliner because he was unable to lie down."

Disabled American Veterans Aiding Vietnam Vets

It's through local Disabled American Veterans organizations that Vietnam veterans are finding help with medical and financial coverage for their illnesses associated with Agent Orange. The DAV aids veterans in filling out their disability claims to the VA.

Ross Jewell, a volunteer service officer for the Owensboro DAV, said there are many Vietnam veterans out there suffering but are only now coming forward.

"... I just helped a (Vietnam) veteran who's had heart problems since he was 28," Jewell said. "And he just passed away in January a week after receiving his (financial) award from the VA. The one thing he wanted was to make sure that his wife was taken care of."

Jewell said there are still Vietnam veterans who are unaware of what the DAV can do for them and others who have been disheartened from previous denials from the VA.

"The people who come in here tell me the stories they're not willing to tell their doctors or their families," Jewell said.

Jewell recommended that any veteran who has an illness or injury that could be service-related should visit their local DAV.

The Owensboro DAV can be contacted at 270-684-6790 and is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon at 1809 Grimes Ave. -- the former Chautauqua Park caretaker's home.

"The majority of the people who come through here today are Vietnam-era veterans," said Jewell about those who are filing VA disability claims. "...It's a painless process with a lot of painful memories."

Diseases recognized by the VA as Agent Orange related:

• --AL amyloidosis: A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs.
• --Chronic B-cell leukemias: A type of cancer that affects white blood cells.
• --Chloracne (or similar acneiform disease): A skin condition that occurs soon after exposure to chemicals and looks like common forms of acne seen in teenagers. Under the VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.
• --Diabetes mellitus type 2: A disease characterized by high blood sugar levels resulting from the body's inability to respond properly to the hormone insulin.
• --Hodgkin's disease: A malignant lymphoma (cancer) characterized by progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver and spleen and by progressive anemia.
• --Ischemic heart disease: A disease characterized by a reduced supply of blood to the heart, that leads to chest pain.
• --Multiple myeloma: A cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in bone marrow.
• --Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: A group of cancers that affect the lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue.
• --Parkinson's disease: A progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects muscle movement.
• --Peripheral neuropathy, early-onset: A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling and motor weakness. Under the VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of herbicide exposure.
• --Porphyria cutanea tarda: A disorder characterized by liver dysfunction and by thinning and blistering of the skin in sun-exposed areas. Under the VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.
• --Prostate cancer: Cancer of the prostate; one of the most common cancers among men.
• --Respiratory cancers (includes lung cancer): Cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea and bronchus.
• --Soft tissue sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma): A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels and connective tissues.

Source: The US Department of Veterans Affairs