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VeTALKX: Karshi-Khanabad (K-2) Military Exposures Q&A and 2nd Community Forum
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Visit our VHA website for additional information on K2 resources:
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Benefits
Health
Deployment
VHA
Responses: 59
I was stationed at K-2 and would like to contribute to the body of information about potential hazards at that airbase. While I was deployed there during my time with the 66 Rescue Squadron, we saw radiation warning signs knocked over all around the perimeter of the base, black goo oozing up out of the ground near the fire department area, and our Hardened Aircraft Shelter which we operated out of had suspicious smells and fluids that we had tested by Bio-Environmental Engineers. They came back right away with indications of chemical weapons, then retracted that a few days later, telling us that they were false positives for "cleaning supplies". How can we get this information into the investigation?
Answering Sgt McKercher: I do not know the number of our HAS, and after they told us it was a false positive, we never got copies of the reports.
Answering Sgt McKercher: I do not know the number of our HAS, and after they told us it was a false positive, we never got copies of the reports.
Sgt Osla McKercher
Do you mind if I ask what the time frame was for the CWA testing (month/year)? Do you remember the number of your HAS?
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Defense Center for Public Health-Aberdeen's website provides several documents related to the conditions at K2. Additionally, all of the declassified K2 reports can be found at the bottom of this page under the section titled "Where can I find more information" [https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/hrasm/Pages/K2-Airbase-Exposures.aspx]. The VA's K2 website provides information on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's re-evaluation of the samples collected during the K2 occupation using using currentscreening thresholds for health [https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp]. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
QUESTION 1 of 2: Does the VA acknowledge that K-2 personnel were exposed to very high levels of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals? Are the K-2 Health Risk Assessments being looked at by any organizations?
When I first read the newly-declassified Department of Defense documents regarding the toxins found at Karshi-Khanabad (K-2), everything suddenly made sense. After talking to and reading about so many sick K-2 veterans, I knew radiation and chemical warfare agent exposures didn’t begin to account for their many disparate signs, symptoms, and conditions. After reading the K-2 Health Risk Assessments (HRAs), there it was in black and white: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs).
Even short exposures to small amounts of EDCs can have significant effects on humans. EDCs can have various systemic effects throughout the body which would explain why K-2 veterans have so many different types of illnesses. Exposure to EDCs would also explain the signs and symptoms that many K-2 veterans have in common: low testosterone, low vitamin D (even with supplementation), osteoporosis, poor dental health, etc.
K-2 veterans were exposed to many EDCs, both in the air and the ground. The HRAs show exposure levels that are far beyond maximum safe guidelines. And those are just the ones that *could* be measured. For some of the compounds, once the equipment could detect it, the exposure was already far past the maximum exposure guideline [MEG]. The 2001 Health Risk Assessment states:
“However, for over half the heavy metals sampled and many VOCs, the detection limit was greater than the long-term Air-MEGs. This is a significant uncertainty in the evaluation for long-term health effects from ambient air since it is not possible to know whether sampled concentrations warrant further evaluation. The results from soil gas sampling and personnel complaints (paragraph 4a) suggest that elevated concentrations of VOCs may be a concern if fuel contaminated soil is exposed through excavation.”
“Concerns from long-term exposure to VOCs cannot be confirmed since those chemicals in soil gas exceeding guidelines have Air-MEGs that are significantly less than the detection levels used for the ambient air sampling. This uncertainty needs to be considered in the overall assessment even though it cannot be evaluated in the same way as specific chemicals exceeding the Air-MEGs.”
Amongst all the declassified documents, I’m sure the VA also saw two documents regarding toxic vapors accumulating inside shelters. The first is entitled "Former Soviet Union: Potential Environmental Health Threats at Airbases" and specifically mentions Karshi-Khanabad. The second document, which seems to be a condensed version of the first, appears to have been made to be placed in personnel medical files.
Both documents state, “Volatile organic compounds evaporating from soil and groundwater may accumulate in the air inside tents or buildings over contaminated areas. Individuals working in polluted, confined, and poorly ventilated areas, such as excavated trenches, may be exposed to high levels of volatile organic vapors….Deployed personnel probably face the greatest threat from breathing volatile organic compounds, particularly in confined, unventilated spaces.”
K-2 personnel slept and worked in tents and other temporary structures which trapped the gases of the volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds as they rose from the soil. These gases are heavier than air so they displaced the oxygen near the ground in the enclosed spaces where K-2 personnel slept or worked. Instead of oxygen, they breathed toxic fumes all night long.
K-2 personnel were exposed to the following additional EDCs at K-2:
1. Bisphenol A (BPA)
The assessments state that the main drinking water source for K-2 personnel was bottled water flown from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. During the early 2000’s, the plastic in water bottles contained bisphenol A (BPA), a very harmful endocrine disruptor even in small amounts. The longer the water sat in the bottles, the more BPA was leached from the bottles to the water. This leaching process accelerated as the temperature of the bottled water increased. Personnel ingested huge amounts of this EDC every day. BPA is a particularly potent EDC, even in very small amounts.
2. Burn Pits and Burn Barrels
Burn barrels and pits were used the entire time K-2 was in operation. The 2004 Health Risk Assessment states that when the assessment team arrived, “several fires were noted on the other side of the perimeter fence from the Ammunition Supply Point. The ambient winds were blowing the smoke from the fires over the [Ammunition Supply Point]…” Burn barrels were also used inside the base perimeter to burn sensitive documents that could not be taken under possession by foreign nationals or uncleared US personnel. According to K-2 veterans, these burn barrels were often used in very close proximity to work-spaces.
3. Arsenic (and Hexavalent Chromium)
Chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-impregnated plywood, a known carcinogen, was sent to K-2 where personnel built so many things with it. CCA-impregnated plywood releases arsenic and continues to do so for many years. Wet CCA-impregnated plywood emits approximately three times as much arsenic as dry plywood. The 2002 Environmental Assessment of the Hardened Aircraft Shelters shows a stack of CCA-impregnated plywood and the very high level of arsenic that it emitted.
4. Insecticides/Pesticides
Uniforms were soaked in Permethrin and personnel sprayed it on themselves continuously. Pesticides were sprayed onto the base of the canvas tents where personnel slept just inches away. Trucks drove around camp spraying a heavy fog of insecticide into the air. Canister-based pesticide foggers were sprayed in enclosed areas such as the airplanes that arrived at and departed from K-2.
5. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Many military personnel ate Meals Ready-to-Eat (MREs) during their time at K-2. The plastic of the MRE packaging was manufactured with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which are known EDCs (use of this EDC in MREs was banned in 2021).
QUESTION 2 of 2: Does the VA assume safety assessments in the K-2 Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) are valid?
The safety assessments of the Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) should be considered questionable since the safety assessments of the HRAs are based on mitigation protocols that were implemented on a very limited basis or not at all:
1. K-2 veterans testify they were never warned of any health risks.
2. They also testify that no gear, to include masks, Tyvek suits, etc., was provided, nor did they know they should be using protective gear.
3. K-2 veterans testify the “No Dig Order” was not communicated nor enforced. They dug in the toxic soil to fill sandbags and create trenches around their work and living/sleeping spaces in an effort to mitigate flooding. They also state that they constructed and graded the area manually with no protective gear.
4. While the toxic soil of the berm (and other areas) was indeed covered by clean soil, this “cap liner” of clean soil was immediately eroded by wind and rain (as stated in one HRA) and as witnessed by K-2 personnel. This allowed strong winds to blow toxic soil throughout the base and allowed rain to wash toxic soil into the Stronghold.
In addition, safety assessments did not take into account unexpected circumstances (nor were they adequately addressed in subsequent HRAs):
1. “Bowl Effect”
The Bowl Effect was inadvertently created when the existing berm was extended around the entire camp. The Stronghold was flooded, for months, with several inches of water that smelled of fuel and sulfur and had an oily sheen. This allowed toxins from the soil in one area of the camp to be carried throughout the camp, and, as stated in one HRA, it washed away any protective layers of soil that had been previously put in place. Personnel dug trenches and placed sandbags around their work and sleeping spaces. These trenches exposed subsurface toxins that floodwaters were able to circulate into the living and sleeping spaces of K-2 personnel (K-2 veterans testify, and photographic evidence shows, that the sandbags stayed in place long after flood waters abated and that the coverings of the sandbags disintegrated, allowing toxic soil, which had been dug from contaminated subsurface layers, to blow freely about the base).
2. Intact Subsurface Clay Layer
In the HRAs, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) found evidence of a subsurface clay layer at various locations at K-2, and declared that, along with a layer of clean-fill on top of the soil, this subsurface clay layer would prevent any upward migration of subsurface gases. However, as USACHPPM noted in later Health Risk Assessments (and as K-2 veterans testify), that top layer of clean-fill quickly eroded with wind and rain, exposing toxic soil. As K-2 veterans testify, puddles of “black goo” migrated upward through the soil at random times and in random places (toxic gases from volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds also migrate upwards as well).
There is no evidence the clay soil was a solid layer or even present at all locations of Camp Stronghold Freedom. Particularly in dry, arid climates, clay soils can crack. With the continual construction, digging, and heavy equipment present at K-2, this clay soil layer was very likely disrupted or even destroyed in various locations (a portion of it was certainly destroyed when two missiles exploded in 1993). Because sub-surface liquids and gases migrate horizontally as well as vertically, toxic liquids and gases can travel quite far before finding a vertical outlet.
I’m assuming that the VA is simply not yet saying anything about the EDCs or the Health Risk Assessments because the VA is going to wait until studies have been done. That’s a long time for sick and dying veterans to wait.
When I first read the newly-declassified Department of Defense documents regarding the toxins found at Karshi-Khanabad (K-2), everything suddenly made sense. After talking to and reading about so many sick K-2 veterans, I knew radiation and chemical warfare agent exposures didn’t begin to account for their many disparate signs, symptoms, and conditions. After reading the K-2 Health Risk Assessments (HRAs), there it was in black and white: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs).
Even short exposures to small amounts of EDCs can have significant effects on humans. EDCs can have various systemic effects throughout the body which would explain why K-2 veterans have so many different types of illnesses. Exposure to EDCs would also explain the signs and symptoms that many K-2 veterans have in common: low testosterone, low vitamin D (even with supplementation), osteoporosis, poor dental health, etc.
K-2 veterans were exposed to many EDCs, both in the air and the ground. The HRAs show exposure levels that are far beyond maximum safe guidelines. And those are just the ones that *could* be measured. For some of the compounds, once the equipment could detect it, the exposure was already far past the maximum exposure guideline [MEG]. The 2001 Health Risk Assessment states:
“However, for over half the heavy metals sampled and many VOCs, the detection limit was greater than the long-term Air-MEGs. This is a significant uncertainty in the evaluation for long-term health effects from ambient air since it is not possible to know whether sampled concentrations warrant further evaluation. The results from soil gas sampling and personnel complaints (paragraph 4a) suggest that elevated concentrations of VOCs may be a concern if fuel contaminated soil is exposed through excavation.”
“Concerns from long-term exposure to VOCs cannot be confirmed since those chemicals in soil gas exceeding guidelines have Air-MEGs that are significantly less than the detection levels used for the ambient air sampling. This uncertainty needs to be considered in the overall assessment even though it cannot be evaluated in the same way as specific chemicals exceeding the Air-MEGs.”
Amongst all the declassified documents, I’m sure the VA also saw two documents regarding toxic vapors accumulating inside shelters. The first is entitled "Former Soviet Union: Potential Environmental Health Threats at Airbases" and specifically mentions Karshi-Khanabad. The second document, which seems to be a condensed version of the first, appears to have been made to be placed in personnel medical files.
Both documents state, “Volatile organic compounds evaporating from soil and groundwater may accumulate in the air inside tents or buildings over contaminated areas. Individuals working in polluted, confined, and poorly ventilated areas, such as excavated trenches, may be exposed to high levels of volatile organic vapors….Deployed personnel probably face the greatest threat from breathing volatile organic compounds, particularly in confined, unventilated spaces.”
K-2 personnel slept and worked in tents and other temporary structures which trapped the gases of the volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds as they rose from the soil. These gases are heavier than air so they displaced the oxygen near the ground in the enclosed spaces where K-2 personnel slept or worked. Instead of oxygen, they breathed toxic fumes all night long.
K-2 personnel were exposed to the following additional EDCs at K-2:
1. Bisphenol A (BPA)
The assessments state that the main drinking water source for K-2 personnel was bottled water flown from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. During the early 2000’s, the plastic in water bottles contained bisphenol A (BPA), a very harmful endocrine disruptor even in small amounts. The longer the water sat in the bottles, the more BPA was leached from the bottles to the water. This leaching process accelerated as the temperature of the bottled water increased. Personnel ingested huge amounts of this EDC every day. BPA is a particularly potent EDC, even in very small amounts.
2. Burn Pits and Burn Barrels
Burn barrels and pits were used the entire time K-2 was in operation. The 2004 Health Risk Assessment states that when the assessment team arrived, “several fires were noted on the other side of the perimeter fence from the Ammunition Supply Point. The ambient winds were blowing the smoke from the fires over the [Ammunition Supply Point]…” Burn barrels were also used inside the base perimeter to burn sensitive documents that could not be taken under possession by foreign nationals or uncleared US personnel. According to K-2 veterans, these burn barrels were often used in very close proximity to work-spaces.
3. Arsenic (and Hexavalent Chromium)
Chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-impregnated plywood, a known carcinogen, was sent to K-2 where personnel built so many things with it. CCA-impregnated plywood releases arsenic and continues to do so for many years. Wet CCA-impregnated plywood emits approximately three times as much arsenic as dry plywood. The 2002 Environmental Assessment of the Hardened Aircraft Shelters shows a stack of CCA-impregnated plywood and the very high level of arsenic that it emitted.
4. Insecticides/Pesticides
Uniforms were soaked in Permethrin and personnel sprayed it on themselves continuously. Pesticides were sprayed onto the base of the canvas tents where personnel slept just inches away. Trucks drove around camp spraying a heavy fog of insecticide into the air. Canister-based pesticide foggers were sprayed in enclosed areas such as the airplanes that arrived at and departed from K-2.
5. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
Many military personnel ate Meals Ready-to-Eat (MREs) during their time at K-2. The plastic of the MRE packaging was manufactured with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which are known EDCs (use of this EDC in MREs was banned in 2021).
QUESTION 2 of 2: Does the VA assume safety assessments in the K-2 Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) are valid?
The safety assessments of the Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) should be considered questionable since the safety assessments of the HRAs are based on mitigation protocols that were implemented on a very limited basis or not at all:
1. K-2 veterans testify they were never warned of any health risks.
2. They also testify that no gear, to include masks, Tyvek suits, etc., was provided, nor did they know they should be using protective gear.
3. K-2 veterans testify the “No Dig Order” was not communicated nor enforced. They dug in the toxic soil to fill sandbags and create trenches around their work and living/sleeping spaces in an effort to mitigate flooding. They also state that they constructed and graded the area manually with no protective gear.
4. While the toxic soil of the berm (and other areas) was indeed covered by clean soil, this “cap liner” of clean soil was immediately eroded by wind and rain (as stated in one HRA) and as witnessed by K-2 personnel. This allowed strong winds to blow toxic soil throughout the base and allowed rain to wash toxic soil into the Stronghold.
In addition, safety assessments did not take into account unexpected circumstances (nor were they adequately addressed in subsequent HRAs):
1. “Bowl Effect”
The Bowl Effect was inadvertently created when the existing berm was extended around the entire camp. The Stronghold was flooded, for months, with several inches of water that smelled of fuel and sulfur and had an oily sheen. This allowed toxins from the soil in one area of the camp to be carried throughout the camp, and, as stated in one HRA, it washed away any protective layers of soil that had been previously put in place. Personnel dug trenches and placed sandbags around their work and sleeping spaces. These trenches exposed subsurface toxins that floodwaters were able to circulate into the living and sleeping spaces of K-2 personnel (K-2 veterans testify, and photographic evidence shows, that the sandbags stayed in place long after flood waters abated and that the coverings of the sandbags disintegrated, allowing toxic soil, which had been dug from contaminated subsurface layers, to blow freely about the base).
2. Intact Subsurface Clay Layer
In the HRAs, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) found evidence of a subsurface clay layer at various locations at K-2, and declared that, along with a layer of clean-fill on top of the soil, this subsurface clay layer would prevent any upward migration of subsurface gases. However, as USACHPPM noted in later Health Risk Assessments (and as K-2 veterans testify), that top layer of clean-fill quickly eroded with wind and rain, exposing toxic soil. As K-2 veterans testify, puddles of “black goo” migrated upward through the soil at random times and in random places (toxic gases from volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds also migrate upwards as well).
There is no evidence the clay soil was a solid layer or even present at all locations of Camp Stronghold Freedom. Particularly in dry, arid climates, clay soils can crack. With the continual construction, digging, and heavy equipment present at K-2, this clay soil layer was very likely disrupted or even destroyed in various locations (a portion of it was certainly destroyed when two missiles exploded in 1993). Because sub-surface liquids and gases migrate horizontally as well as vertically, toxic liquids and gases can travel quite far before finding a vertical outlet.
I’m assuming that the VA is simply not yet saying anything about the EDCs or the Health Risk Assessments because the VA is going to wait until studies have been done. That’s a long time for sick and dying veterans to wait.
SGT Kristen Oneill
1st Lt Daryl Riddle - I dont know about the rest of yall, but i have developed an immune deficiency about 3 years ago called- Hypogammaglobulinemia. It makes every cold and flu that i get severe and hard to recover from. I get pneumonia several times a year (nearly every time i get a virus). Im convinced this is another K2 anomaly. It is unheard of to randomly develop it in your 40's...
1st Lt Daryl Riddle
That would fall under Immune Response Disorders that should be made presumptive. Have you considered a referral to the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center? They are looking for chronic ,undiagnosed illnesses. Contact me at [login to see] so we can talk.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Defense Center for Public Health-Aberdeen's website provides several documents related to the conditions at K2. Additionally, all of the declassified K2 reports can be found at the bottom of this page under the section titled "Where can I find more information" [https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/hrasm/Pages/K2-Airbase-Exposures.aspx]. The VA's K2 website provides information on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's re-evaluation of the samples collected during the K2 occupation using using currentscreening thresholds for health [https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp]. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
I have tried to have an open and frank conversation with my primary care provider regarding the months I spent living in the most toxic Tent City ever: K2. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that his immediate response was “there is no test for cancer, and I don’t deal with C&P for an increase in your disability rating”. Mind you I was blown up in Iraq and lost my stupid leg so I am already at 100% which he is well aware of, so why he assumed I was asking any questions about getting a VA rating in the first place is beyond me. So I will ask my questions here:
1. IF we already have a rating of 100%, and are already enrolled in the VA Healthcare System, do we need to submit a new claim for past cancer diagnosis or will those cancers now be automatically applied to our health records as “Service Related Injuries”? As an example, my cancer diagnosis led to a FULL HYSTERECTOMY at the age of 39. Service related for sure.
2. What happened to ALL the reports that were submitted from the individual NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) NCOIC’s from each Unit? I know a thorough testing, review and written report were completed and submitted by the 659th Maintenance Company, 189th CSB. The NCOIC had us take pictures of everything. Where are these reports?
3. Will be be provided with a FULL and NON-REDACTED Report of all individuals stationed at K2 who have received a diagnosis directly related to their time at K2? All cancers, illnesses, sicknesses, and diseases that service members, contractors and trusted agents have experienced?
4. Clearly the government and all person’s responsible for placing us in harms way KNOW these patterns, and they know we are getting sick. What is to be done about this?
If I sound mad, just know the anger is justified.
1. IF we already have a rating of 100%, and are already enrolled in the VA Healthcare System, do we need to submit a new claim for past cancer diagnosis or will those cancers now be automatically applied to our health records as “Service Related Injuries”? As an example, my cancer diagnosis led to a FULL HYSTERECTOMY at the age of 39. Service related for sure.
2. What happened to ALL the reports that were submitted from the individual NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) NCOIC’s from each Unit? I know a thorough testing, review and written report were completed and submitted by the 659th Maintenance Company, 189th CSB. The NCOIC had us take pictures of everything. Where are these reports?
3. Will be be provided with a FULL and NON-REDACTED Report of all individuals stationed at K2 who have received a diagnosis directly related to their time at K2? All cancers, illnesses, sicknesses, and diseases that service members, contractors and trusted agents have experienced?
4. Clearly the government and all person’s responsible for placing us in harms way KNOW these patterns, and they know we are getting sick. What is to be done about this?
If I sound mad, just know the anger is justified.
Sgt Osla McKercher
Carla--definitely submit (or resubmit) any claims that are now considered presumptive conditions under the PACT Act. Those disabilities will be considered service-connected. If you previously submitted a claim for the cancer and that claim was denied before you lost your leg, you stand to gain retroactive benefits (money). The PACT Act clearly states all the presumptive benefits named in the Act are eligible for retroactivity if one has previously made a claim. Even if you lost your leg and were at 100% disability when you had the hysterectomy, you should still receive retroactive benefits because a hysterectomy results in additional special monthly compensation beyond the 100% rating.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
1. We recommend that you file a claim. Even though you cannot get more than 100%, there is the possibility of Special Monthly Compensation. Also, this is good practice as these additional conditions may confer additional benefits for your survivors should you pass from a service connected condition. 2. Defense Center for Public Health-Aberdeen's website provides several documents related to the conditions at K2. Additionally, all of the declassified K2 reports can be found at the bottom of this page under the section titled "Where can I find more information" [https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/hrasm/Pages/K2-Airbase-Exposures.aspx]. The VA's K2 website provides information on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's re-evaluation of the samples collected during the K2 occupation using using currentscreening thresholds for health [https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp]. 3. Individual-level health data will not be shared or provided as that is a violation of the Privacy Act and HIPAA. 4. The purpose of the K2 Community Forums is to inform the K2 community about what DoD and VA are doing to address the health concerns of K2 Veterans. Future K2 Community Forms will be held at least annually to share findings from the K2 Surveillance Program and/or DoD's Epidemiology Study. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
I am a K2 vet. I do not feel good, this is everyday.
Why is the land desolate where Camp Stronghold Freedom once stood?
What chemicals are currently in the soil and drainage ponds surrounding K2?
What specific chemical agents were detected that are not listed on the Army’s environmental report on K2?
What is the current radiation level?
How many more K2 Veterans need to die before the list of presumptive conditions will expand to cover all common illnesses amongst K2 Veterans?
How come VA providers don’t know anything about K2 when asked?
Why is the land desolate where Camp Stronghold Freedom once stood?
What chemicals are currently in the soil and drainage ponds surrounding K2?
What specific chemical agents were detected that are not listed on the Army’s environmental report on K2?
What is the current radiation level?
How many more K2 Veterans need to die before the list of presumptive conditions will expand to cover all common illnesses amongst K2 Veterans?
How come VA providers don’t know anything about K2 when asked?
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Defense Center for Public Health-Aberdeen's website provides several documents related to the conditions at K2. Additionally, all of the declassified K2 reports can be found at the bottom of this page under the section titled "Where can I find more information" [https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/hrasm/Pages/K2-Airbase-Exposures.aspx]. The VA's K2 website provides information on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's re-evaluation of the samples collected during the K2 occupation using using currentscreening thresholds for health [https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp]. The PACT Act includes the K2 Veterans, and these legislated presumptions include over 300 conditions. VA providers are able to consult about military environmental exposures with Environmental Health Clinicians for any questions that may arise. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
Due to the numerous concerns about many 'one off' type cancers showing up in our compatriots, will the VA be increasing the scans/tests/etc for detectable cancers and conditions for all military service folks who registered for the toxic exposure risks and the burn pit registry? Or will it continue to fall to the service member to have to make such requests at the woefully inadequate primary care appointments (if we can even get scheduled for one)
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA is evaluating cancers as part of the K2 Surveillance Program. Should these assessments indicate that K2 Veterans have a higher risk of a certain type of cancer, these findings would inform policy decisions that may include modified practice guidelines for screening in K2 Veterans and Service members. At present, VA recommends age-appropriate screening according to current clinical guidelines. There are currently no diagnostic tests that can confirm exposures related to K2, other than depleted uranium testing, or link them to specific diseases. All Veterans should work with their Primary Care Providers to ensure they receive usual cancer and health screenings such as colorectal cancer.
My question is what presumptives do we expect to come out of this? I suffer from Parkinson’s, that I will truly believe, manifested from exposures at K2. The Simpsons just didn’t get bad or show for years after. The effects of these types of things are having on us later in life is truly difficult to live with
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
In accordance with PACT Act's new standards of determining presumptions, VA must consider a variety of clinincal information and other data from various sources, to include VBA claims data. Any conditions that appear to have a higher risk associated with service at K2 will be further investigated by VHA and VBA using the new and more rigorous presumption decision making process. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
I was at K2 in 2004. My friend Michael Farkas was at K2 a year before me and just passed from kidney cancer, it was very fast from diagnosis to death. I would like the VA to figure out what we should be tested for and how often.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA is evaluating numerous cancers as part of the K2 Surveillance Program. Should these assessments indicate that K2 Veterans have a higher risk of a certain type of cancer, these findings would inform policy decisions that may include modified practice guidelines for screening in K2 Veterans and Service members. At present, VA recommends age-appropriate screening according to current clinical guidelines. There are currently no diagnostic tests that can confirm exposures related to K2 or link them to certain diseases. All Veterans should work with their PCPs to ensure they recieve usual cancer and health screening such as colorectal cancer.
I was with the first group that landed in Usbekistan in 2001. Instructed to setup sleeping areas in the three bunkers at the end of the main runway (tent city came later on). Bunkers immediately created concerns associated with respiratory issues. Lots of animal droppings and very dusty combined with strange odors. We joked about everything being discussed related to long term health issues, shrugged our shoulders, laughed and kept on with the mission. Completely not surprised that here we are now having exposure discussions. Not sure if my health issues are directly associated but we shall see I guess. I have yet to see any discussions about us living in those bunkers and results of the testing that was done that prompted us to move out of them in rapid fashion. What were the test results from inside these bunkers?
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Defense Center for Public Health-Aberdeen's website provides several documents related to the conditions at K2. Additionally, all of the declassified K2 reports can be found at the bottom of this page under the section titled "Where can I find more information" [https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/hrasm/Pages/K2-Airbase-Exposures.aspx]. The VA's K2 website provides information on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's re-evaluation of the samples collected during the K2 occupation using using currentscreening thresholds for health [https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/karshi-khanabad.asp]. Thank you for your service. If you are not already enrolled for VA health care, we encourage you to do so. VA also encourages Veterans who believe their military service has negatively impacted their health to submit a claim to VBA.
Second round of questions:
5. Since the VA clearly has a list of names of the veterans who served at K2, why haven’t the Primary Care Providers of those who are already enrolled in the VA been sent letters describing the exposure events, testing results, and reports about K2? We go to our doctors to discuss our exposure concerns about K2, most have ZERO CLUE what we are talking about. Shouldn’t these individuals be briefed at least?
6. Will there be files released during the June 29th briefing that we, or more specifically the SFF, have NOT been given access to previously?
7. Will we be provided with any files, documents, reports, test results, and/or pictures prior to the June 29th briefing?
8. Going forward, what plans are in place to bring the ENTIRE VA POPULATION up to date on EVERYTHING that has happened to K2 Veterans?
9. How many K2 Veterans lost their sexual reproductive health and at what percentage? (Partial hysterectomy, full hysterectomy, erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and any other complications I have not listed)
5. Since the VA clearly has a list of names of the veterans who served at K2, why haven’t the Primary Care Providers of those who are already enrolled in the VA been sent letters describing the exposure events, testing results, and reports about K2? We go to our doctors to discuss our exposure concerns about K2, most have ZERO CLUE what we are talking about. Shouldn’t these individuals be briefed at least?
6. Will there be files released during the June 29th briefing that we, or more specifically the SFF, have NOT been given access to previously?
7. Will we be provided with any files, documents, reports, test results, and/or pictures prior to the June 29th briefing?
8. Going forward, what plans are in place to bring the ENTIRE VA POPULATION up to date on EVERYTHING that has happened to K2 Veterans?
9. How many K2 Veterans lost their sexual reproductive health and at what percentage? (Partial hysterectomy, full hysterectomy, erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and any other complications I have not listed)
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
5) Environmental Health Coordinator and Clinicians have been provided a copy of the letter that was mailed to K2 Veterans, and we continue to work with health care providers across VHA to inform them of unique cohorts and the needs and benefits available to these cohorts. 6) Sharing such files like those noted that contain personal health information are protected by the Privacy Act and HIPAA regulations. 7) These data are protected by Privacy Act and HIPAA. 8) The K2 Community Forum plus other K2-related outreach efforts are designed to keep the entire K2 community informed. 9) These and many other conditions are currently being assessed, and results will be shared publicly when peer-reviewed journal manuscripts are accepted for publication.
I am a surviving spouse of a K2 AF veteran who passed away 3 years ago due to pancreatic, liver, lung and brain cancer which was recognized as related to Toxic Exposure. I was an AF Reserve Flight Nurse and am currently volunteering with the Stronghold Freedom Foundation(SFF) who are fighting for all K2 veterans and their families to be taken care and to be heard.
SGT Carla Best
We K2 veterans owe a great deal of respect and gratitude to yourself, the Stronghold Freedom Foundation, and the community that we have lost due to the exposures we experienced in Uzbekistan.
Thank you is not enough.
Thank you is not enough.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
We are sorry for your loss and appreciate your spouse's service; we appreciate your involvement in helping other Veterans. K2 efforts in our respective agencies are but one example of DoD’s and VA’s commitment to better understand the impacts of military environmental exposures on the health of Service members and Veterans. Results from these efforts will inform and shape health care policy and benefits for K2 Veterans.
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