VVA's president Mr. John Rowan issued this statement today strongly challenging VA's proposed interim final rule restricting C-123 Agent Orange benefits. The concern of all veterans is on VA's failure to respect retroactive compensation based on date of claim submission.
[T]he government’s interest in veterans cases is not that it shall win, but rather that justice shall be done, that all veterans so entitled receive the benefits due to them.” Barrett v. Nicholson, 466 F.3d 1038, 1044 (Fed.Cir.2006)
Showing posts with label john rowan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john rowan. Show all posts
19 August 2015
Vietnam Veterans of America Comment to VA on C-123 Interim Final Rule
VVA's president Mr. John Rowan issued this statement today strongly challenging VA's proposed interim final rule restricting C-123 Agent Orange benefits. The concern of all veterans is on VA's failure to respect retroactive compensation based on date of claim submission.
07 May 2014
C-123 Veterans Announce Agent Orange Town Hall Meetings
Partnering with the Vietnam Veterans of America. representatives of the C-123 Veterans Association
are now available to present the popular Agent Orange Town Hall meetings throughout the United States. Addressing the full range of Agent Orange concerns and benefits, our Association presents an additional element of exposure topics, including a bit more scientific focus on routes of exposure.
The meetings, free to the public and with light refreshments provided, will also include the latest VA's War Injuries and Illness Study Center, where their poly-exposure expertise has been so important to veterans, especially those with multiple war exposures.
The Agent Orange Town Hall meetings have been organized for nearly two years under the auspices of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the objective being to acquaint veterans and the public with the lingering issues of this Vietnam-war era military herbicide which still causes such grief to America's veterans, as well as allies from South Korea, Australia and the former Republic of South Vietnam.
VVA's web site posts announcements of these talks, presented by many affiliated veterans' organizations in each of the fifty states, and which have proven so popular. The VVA site also posts meeting materials for organizers, and links to vital materials from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the VVA itself, especially the informative VVA Guide to Agent Orange Self Help.
Town Hall Meetings are pointedly non-political...information about Agent Orange and its impact on America's veterans and
their families is the only agenda item. And that information is changing all the time, with new perspectives from the VA, the medical community and veterans themselves.
The C-123 Veterans Association anticipates its next Town Hall Meeting to be July 19 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in partnership with the city's three Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, and with input from the Wyoming Veterans Commission and the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center (note: participation by other agencies such as the VA does not imply their sponsorship or content approval, but only their wish to help inform their veterans and answer questions on any topic of interest.)
Other organizations wishing to conduct Town Hall Meetings under the sponsorship of the Vietnam Veterans of America are asked to coordinate with the VVA through Mokie Porter in the national office. 1-800-882-1316 ext. 146 (mporter@vva.org) For information about the C-123 Veterans Association Town Hall Meeting, please contact W. Carter at wes@c123cancer.org
The meetings, free to the public and with light refreshments provided, will also include the latest VA's War Injuries and Illness Study Center, where their poly-exposure expertise has been so important to veterans, especially those with multiple war exposures.
The Agent Orange Town Hall meetings have been organized for nearly two years under the auspices of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the objective being to acquaint veterans and the public with the lingering issues of this Vietnam-war era military herbicide which still causes such grief to America's veterans, as well as allies from South Korea, Australia and the former Republic of South Vietnam.
VVA's web site posts announcements of these talks, presented by many affiliated veterans' organizations in each of the fifty states, and which have proven so popular. The VVA site also posts meeting materials for organizers, and links to vital materials from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the VVA itself, especially the informative VVA Guide to Agent Orange Self Help.
Town Hall Meetings are pointedly non-political...information about Agent Orange and its impact on America's veterans and
their families is the only agenda item. And that information is changing all the time, with new perspectives from the VA, the medical community and veterans themselves.
The C-123 Veterans Association anticipates its next Town Hall Meeting to be July 19 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in partnership with the city's three Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, and with input from the Wyoming Veterans Commission and the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center (note: participation by other agencies such as the VA does not imply their sponsorship or content approval, but only their wish to help inform their veterans and answer questions on any topic of interest.)
Other organizations wishing to conduct Town Hall Meetings under the sponsorship of the Vietnam Veterans of America are asked to coordinate with the VVA through Mokie Porter in the national office. 1-800-882-1316 ext. 146 (mporter@vva.org) For information about the C-123 Veterans Association Town Hall Meeting, please contact W. Carter at wes@c123cancer.org
19 April 2014
C-123 Exposure Study by Institute of Medicine – More Details Emerge
The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine has been handed a contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs to evaluate the C-123 Agent Orange contamination and exposure concerns raised by veterans. The study has its first committee meeting May 15, and the final on June 16, with a report due back to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by the end of September. Veterans hope that, with such a narrow study focus, the report might be finished earlier.
A full description of the VA assignment, the IOM plans for its meetings, and committee members is available at the IOM website or here.
12 March 2014
Vietnam Veterans of America Goes to Congress For C-123 Vets
Last week, VVA President John Rowan presented the association's 2014 Legislative Agenda and Policy Initiatives. Besides addressingessential VA funding reforms and a forward-looking initiative on exposures, President Rowan reminded Congress of the VVA's famous, "No Veteran Left Behind" pledge.
This pledge took the form of President Rowan's testimony including C-123 military herbicide exposures in the post-Vietnam era. He reported:
27 September 2013
Vietnam Veterans of America Enacts Resolution Supporting C-123 Veterans!
Thanks to the Vietnam Veterans of America. the C-123 Veterans Association has even more
momentum towards gaining recognition of our Agent Orange exposure from the VA. The following national resolution was enacted at their 2013 convention, and extends the resolution supporting us first put forward in 2012.
Also, special thanks are due VVA and their president, John Rowan, for assistance in dealing with the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine and the faulty report that unit issued about C-123 dioxin contamination. When the request went to VVA for help challenging the Air Force report, VVA leadership immediately responded and the benefits of their assistance are still being felt, and will continue to be felt, as the medical and scientific communities conclude their challenge to USAFSAM's C-123 report. We can't detail too much of this controversy until publication of the various scientific reports this fall.
Also, special thanks are due VVA and their president, John Rowan, for assistance in dealing with the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine and the faulty report that unit issued about C-123 dioxin contamination. When the request went to VVA for help challenging the Air Force report, VVA leadership immediately responded and the benefits of their assistance are still being felt, and will continue to be felt, as the medical and scientific communities conclude their challenge to USAFSAM's C-123 report. We can't detail too much of this controversy until publication of the various scientific reports this fall.
Issue:
2013 VVA Convention Resolution
Proposed by the AGENT ORANGE COMMITTEE
ADOPTED by Vietnam Veterans of America
US AIR FORCE RESERVE C123K AIRCREWS EXPOSURE:
POST-VIETNAM
AO-17
The United States Air Force (USAF) used its fleets of C-123K transport aircraft in more
than 9,100 missions, for aerial application of more than twenty million gallons of toxic
herbicides between 1961 and 1971 in Vietnam. The aircraft were returned to the United
States for continued use in airlift missions by USAF squadrons at Westover Air Force
Base, Massachusetts; Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania; and, Rickenbacker
Air Reserve Base, Ohio between 1972-1982 and were then retired from service and
placed in storage. Veterans whose duties brought them into intense contact with these
aircraft were exposed to military herbicides.
Background:
The United States Air Force (USAF) in 1979, in response to the presence of noxious fumes, conducted scientific tests on unit aircraft and identified and determined that significant levels of military herbicides and insecticides used in Vietnam still contaminated the aircraft; and, additional tests carried out in 1994 by USAF Armstrong Laboratories still showed the presence of herbicides, and in particular, the presence of highly toxic Agent Orange contaminant dioxin. Finding that the contamination was considered sufficient by the USAF, it then required the use of HAZMAT protective equipment when carrying out tests or otherwise entering the aircraft. As late as 2009, further USAF tests conducted at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona demonstrated continued contamination of these aircraft. USAF toxicology staff has testified in federal proceedings that toxic levels of contamination due to the herbicides were a danger to public health; and that the levels observed in the aircraft greatly exceed the Department of Defense’s (DoD) own standards for maximum permissible exposure to any dioxin contaminating interior surfaces. Other federal agencies have reviewed the data and concurred that exposures to personnel at levels exceeding DoD recommendations are likely to have occurred. In response to the State of Arizona and US Environmental Protection Agency environmental concerns, the USAF withdrew the aircraft from commercial resale, quarantined them and, in April 2010, ultimately took extraordinary disposal measures and smelted the remaining fleet. It is estimated that approximately 1,500 service members, including aircrews and maintenance personnel were exposed to military herbicide-contaminated conditions on the C-123 aircraft; with many of these personnel, who now having health problems commonly associated with herbicide exposure and have endured lengthy legal struggles to prove these problems are service-related. The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, under Public Law 102-4, has statutory responsibility to accurately designate situations and locations that caused veterans to have been exposed to military herbicides used in Vietnam, as well as their contaminants.
Background:
The United States Air Force (USAF) in 1979, in response to the presence of noxious fumes, conducted scientific tests on unit aircraft and identified and determined that significant levels of military herbicides and insecticides used in Vietnam still contaminated the aircraft; and, additional tests carried out in 1994 by USAF Armstrong Laboratories still showed the presence of herbicides, and in particular, the presence of highly toxic Agent Orange contaminant dioxin. Finding that the contamination was considered sufficient by the USAF, it then required the use of HAZMAT protective equipment when carrying out tests or otherwise entering the aircraft. As late as 2009, further USAF tests conducted at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona demonstrated continued contamination of these aircraft. USAF toxicology staff has testified in federal proceedings that toxic levels of contamination due to the herbicides were a danger to public health; and that the levels observed in the aircraft greatly exceed the Department of Defense’s (DoD) own standards for maximum permissible exposure to any dioxin contaminating interior surfaces. Other federal agencies have reviewed the data and concurred that exposures to personnel at levels exceeding DoD recommendations are likely to have occurred. In response to the State of Arizona and US Environmental Protection Agency environmental concerns, the USAF withdrew the aircraft from commercial resale, quarantined them and, in April 2010, ultimately took extraordinary disposal measures and smelted the remaining fleet. It is estimated that approximately 1,500 service members, including aircrews and maintenance personnel were exposed to military herbicide-contaminated conditions on the C-123 aircraft; with many of these personnel, who now having health problems commonly associated with herbicide exposure and have endured lengthy legal struggles to prove these problems are service-related. The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, under Public Law 102-4, has statutory responsibility to accurately designate situations and locations that caused veterans to have been exposed to military herbicides used in Vietnam, as well as their contaminants.
Resolved, That:
Vietnam Veterans of America, in light of the review of the data and scientific information
available currently, has confirmed that post-Vietnam service aboard the C-123 led to
dioxin exposure at about the same intensity as with ground troops from the Vietnam
War. And, having secured expert scientific opinions as to the length and breadth of that
exposure; urges the Department of Veterans Affairs to promptly designate the C-123K
aircraft, used after the Vietnam War in the United States during 1972 to 1982, as having
been Agent Orange exposure sites to permit the approximately 1,500 veterans who
were aircrew or maintenance personnel to be eligible for Agent Orange-related benefits.
Further, in light of the inaction by both the United States Air Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs in ameliorating the present situation encountered by these approximately 1,500 veterans; VVA will also advocate with the United States Congress for the introduction of enabling legislation that would grant presumptive herbicide exposure status to US servicemembers who served in the units cited above.
Adopted by a majority voice vote by Vietnam Veterans of America at its 16th national convention in Jacksonville, Florida on 16 August 2013
Further, in light of the inaction by both the United States Air Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs in ameliorating the present situation encountered by these approximately 1,500 veterans; VVA will also advocate with the United States Congress for the introduction of enabling legislation that would grant presumptive herbicide exposure status to US servicemembers who served in the units cited above.
Adopted by a majority voice vote by Vietnam Veterans of America at its 16th national convention in Jacksonville, Florida on 16 August 2013
31 March 2013
Thank You, Vietnam Veterans of America!
Thanks are offered to the Vietnam Veterans of America, and their president John Rowan, as well as other national leaders in this outstanding veterans organization. I am the son and cousin of long-time members of VVA, and while a new member myself, it doesn't take long to realize how much this dedicated team has done for America's veterans of all conflicts.
VVA - my thanks, for reason which will be specified later. Please know vets of all generations recognize the burden you've accepted of "No veteran left behind" which is exactly how you've embraced our people of the C-123 Veterans Association. All veterans realize it will be our responsibility to carry forward that spirit of service and dedication to our brothers and sisters in arms following us in later years and in later conflicts.Trip Report: I had the unexpected opportunity to make a trip to Wright-Patterson AFB again, and was there Thursday through Saturday. Patches looked great, with some work being done by skilled restoration volunteers on the right wing flaps. A recent inspection indicated the interior looked as good as when it flew out of Hagerstown decades ago, however there still was a powerful stench which scientists have attributed to Agent Orange, smelling like the garden weed killer Roundup. While there has been controversy over whether Agent Orange smells at all, a professional having first-hand familiarity with Agent Orange insists the odors are the same...he even compared the smell experienced inside Patches with a container of Roundup and confirmed the similarity. He also reminded me that Roundup has much of the same chemistry as Agent Orange!
There were very interesting videos being shown of Ranch Hand operations on the monitor portion of the Patches exhibit, but I was unable to visit the museum's archives to get copies as they don't permit researchers to access materials without an appointment in advance. Kinda hard to have done that as I didn't know I was going to Dayton until the day before I got there. Anyway, I'll try to recover from the museum as well as Air Force Historical Research Center which has been so helpful in the past.
16 March 2013
Vietnam Veterans of America - Standing Tall for C-123 Veterans!
"VVA shall continue to advocate on behalf of the veterans of the crews who flew C-123 transports contaminated by the remains of the barrels of Agent Orange they once ferried into and out of Vietnam and are now suffering some of the same peculiar health ills as in-country Vietnam veterans."
We C-123 veterans remain in debt to President Rowan and his fantastic Agent Orange committee which long ago recognized our just claims for Agent Orange exposure.
A note: I have advised President Rowan that, in fact, the C-123 was primarily used for actually spraying Agent Orange which was the mechanism for its becoming contaminated, rather than the transport of Agent Orange barrels.
Legislative Testimony March 6, 2013
16
•
VVA urges Congress to investigate if our nation’s minority veteransare given lesser treatment for health conditions at VA medical centersand community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs).
•
VVA urges Congress to mandate that the VA provide brochures andother information for Spanish-speaking veterans, particularly thoseresiding in Puerto Rico, inasmuch as many male veterans areconvinced to seek VA medical assistance by members of their family,who may speak Spanish exclusively.
Agent Orange/Dioxin & Other Toxic Substances
•
VVA calls on Congress and the President to take steps to declassify
all
documents from the years of the Vietnam War, including memos between agencies, dealing with Agent Orange/dioxin and make them public – now, almost 50 years since our government sprayed some 20million gallons of extraordinarily toxic compounds over five millionacres of the former South Vietnam.
•
VVA shall continue to support legislative efforts and other initiativesto achieve justice for naval personnel serving aboard ships plying thewaters of Yankee and Dixie Stations in the South China Sea and theGulf of Tonkin by getting the VA to recognize that they are deservingof the same health and other benefits as in-country “boots-on-the-ground” veterans.
•
VVA shall continue to advocate on behalf of the veterans of the crewswho flew C-123 transports contaminated by the remains of the barrelsof Agent Orange they once ferried into and out of Vietnam and arenow suffering some of the same peculiar health ills as are in-countryVietnam veterans
24 February 2012
Vietnam Vets of America - Press Release Supporting C-123 Dioxin Claims!
(RECEIVED TODAY - With thanks from our fellow veterans of the VVA!)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2012 No. 12-06
Contact: Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146
Contact: Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146
VVA to VA:
Make Agent Orange Aircraft Crews Eligible for Care and Disability Compensation
(Washington, D.C.)—“Vietnam Veterans of America holds true that crews who flew the C-123K aircraft contaminated with Agent Orange should be acknowledged by your department to have been exposed to this herbicide, and that those crew members who are afflicted with any of the maladies the VA considers presumptive to service connection ought to be eligible for health care and, when warranted, disability compensation,” wrote John Rowan, National President of VVA, to General Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Citing the strong language from Dr. Thomas Sinks, Deputy Director of the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in acknowledging the contamination and the crews’ exposure, Rowan noted, “This directly challenges the VA’s contention that, although the aircraft ‘may’ have been contaminated by dioxin, there was little likelihood of any harmful exposure.”
Acknowledging that, far too often, the VA has taken an adversarial stance concerning invisible wounds of war suffered by too many of our veterans, rather than acting as an advocate on behalf of these men and women, Rowan stated, “It is time for the VA to acknowledge what the U.S. Air Force has already certified, that there is enough evidence these aircraft were, in fact, heavily contaminated, and that those crew members afflicted with illnesses the VA recognizes as service-connected presumptive ought to be eligible for health care as well as disability compensation.”
“We bring this to your attention,” stated Rowan in his letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, “because we hope your good offices might ask for a reevaluation of your department’s stance in this matter.”
--30--
Make Agent Orange Aircraft Crews Eligible for Care and Disability Compensation
(Washington, D.C.)—“Vietnam Veterans of America holds true that crews who flew the C-123K aircraft contaminated with Agent Orange should be acknowledged by your department to have been exposed to this herbicide, and that those crew members who are afflicted with any of the maladies the VA considers presumptive to service connection ought to be eligible for health care and, when warranted, disability compensation,” wrote John Rowan, National President of VVA, to General Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Citing the strong language from Dr. Thomas Sinks, Deputy Director of the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in acknowledging the contamination and the crews’ exposure, Rowan noted, “This directly challenges the VA’s contention that, although the aircraft ‘may’ have been contaminated by dioxin, there was little likelihood of any harmful exposure.”
Acknowledging that, far too often, the VA has taken an adversarial stance concerning invisible wounds of war suffered by too many of our veterans, rather than acting as an advocate on behalf of these men and women, Rowan stated, “It is time for the VA to acknowledge what the U.S. Air Force has already certified, that there is enough evidence these aircraft were, in fact, heavily contaminated, and that those crew members afflicted with illnesses the VA recognizes as service-connected presumptive ought to be eligible for health care as well as disability compensation.”
“We bring this to your attention,” stated Rowan in his letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, “because we hope your good offices might ask for a reevaluation of your department’s stance in this matter.”
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