New VA Internet Bulletin Addresses C-123 Claims

"There is only one catch"

On January 4 2013 a revised bulletin was posted by the VA's Compensation and Pension Service, in which four groups of non-Vietnam War veterans' exposure to Agent Orange is  addressed. And C-123 vets are specified!

This is new. What is old, unfortunately, is the line specifying C-123 veterans gives a hyperlink to a VA Public Health bulletin which explains in detail just how we were not exposed. Kind of a contradiction, wouldn't you say? I don't think the VA folks would be that duplicitous, so perhaps there will be a text change in the document now denying the possibility of our exposure. "Catch-22?" I sure hope not.

Perhaps VA Public Health and VA Compensation Service need to coordinate their releases to get some consistency and make sure they're on the same page, even if it is against us. Here is the text of the 4 Jan document of interest to us:

Eligibility – Service Outside of Vietnam or Korea

Even if you did not serve in Vietnam or the Korean demilitarized zone during the specified time periods, you can still apply for disability compensation if you were exposed to an herbicide while in the military and believe it led to the onset of a disease. This includes:

• Veterans who served on or near the perimeters of military bases in Thailand during the Vietnam Era.
• Veterans who served where herbicides were tested and stored outside of Vietnam.
• Veterans who were crew members on C-123 planes flown after the Vietnam War.
• Veterans associated with Department of Defense (DoD) projects to test, dispose of, or store herbicides in the U.S.