Gulf Veterans

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations mandated by the United Nations and led by the United States.

The lead up to the war began with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 which was met with immediate economic sanctions by the United Nations against Iraq. Hostilities commenced in January 1991, resulting in a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait with minimal coalition deaths. The main battles were aerial and ground combat within Iraq, Kuwait and bordering areas of Saudi Arabia. The war did not expand outside of the immediate Iraq/Kuwait/Saudi border region, although Iraq fired missiles on Israeli cities.
Source: Wikipedia

Related Resources

Web Site Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
Web Site Department of Defense Deployment Information
Web Site Department of Defense, Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses
Web Site Presidential Special Oversight Board (Reviews the work of DoD)

Related Resolutions

The American Legion is a democratic organization. Our national agenda is determined by our members once a year at its annual convention. Through resolutions, our members direct the national staff to lobby Congress and the federal government to "care for those who have borne the battle..."

Since 1990 and Operation Desert Shield, our membership has passed resolutions in support of Gulf War veterans. Posted below are the resolutions of concern to the Gulf War veterans passed at our National Convention. They address issues of concern for Gulf War veterans, and give a hint as to what actions we will take over the coming year.

PDF Document Res. 06N65:
The American Legion Policy on Gulf
War Veterans Illnesses

PDF Document Res. 06N147
Open_Ended Presumptive
Period For Undiagnosed
Illnesses for Gulf War Vetereans

PDF Document Res. 06N111
The American Legion Policy on the
Use of Depleted Uranium

PDF Document Res. 06N311
Extend Presumptive Period for
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) to Seven Years


PDF Document Res. 00N168
Extend Persian Gulf War Benefits To
Those Who Served In Israel and Turkey

PDF Document Res. 06N218
the Establishment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) as a Gulf War Presumptive Disease

Available Benefits

The following is a summary of the major benefits most Persian Gulf veterans may use. For more information, contact an American Legion Department Service Officer Directory

BenefitTime Limit
Disability Compensation for service-related disability. Must be documented.No time limit for claim. But for payments to be made from date of separation, you must file within one year of separation.
One-time VA Outpatient Dental Treatment for certain service-connected dental conditions or disabilities.Application must be made within 90 days of separation.
VA Medical Care, including hospital care and outpatient care, is available for any condition, if necessary. Alcohol and substance abuse treatment is also available.No time limit. Certain restrictions apply.
Counseling, including education and vocational, may be obtained. Readjustment counseling is available for Vietnam and Persian Gulf veterans.No time limit.
Vocational Rehabilitation for service disabled veterans rated 20 percent or more. VA will pay tuition, books and other expenses and a monthly living allowance, and provide employment assistance.Contact Service Officer
Burial benefits, including interment in a national cemetery, partial reimbursement for burial expenses and a government headstone or grave marker.$1,500 service-connected burial allowance, no time limit; $300 non-service-connected burial allowance and $150 plot allowance, two years from date of death; headstone or grave marker, no time limit.
Montgomery GI Bill - VA pays monthly education assistance benefits depending on the various program for active duty, Reservists and National Guard members.Benefits provided must be used within 10 years of discharge.
VA Home Loan - VA will guarantee your loan toward the purchase of a home, mobile home or condominium.No time limit. Eligibility must be re-established following repayment of original loan.
Servicemen's Group Life Insurance covers persons on active duty in amounts up to $200,000.Coverage terminates 120 days after separation.
Veterans Group Life Insurance is a five-year term insurance plan, with coverage amounts up to $200,000.Within 120 days of separation, VGLI may be converted to commercial insurance at any time.
Service-Disabled Life Insurance is granted in amounts up to $10,000 to veterans with a service-connected disability who are in otherwise good health.Within two years of VA granting service-connected disabled status.
Employment Assistance is available to assist disabled and non-disabled veterans find employment or training.Immediately following separation.
Unemployment Compensation is available to those out of work for a limited period of time.Apply at any state Employment Service or state Department of Labor offices.
Re-employment Rights are guaranteed by U.S. law to members of the activated Reserves and National Guard.90 days. Questions about re-employment rights should be directed to DOL's Veterans Employment and Training office in your state.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) helps separating veterans who need financial assistance or counseling to establish or re-establish a small business.No time limit. Contact the Veterans Affairs Officer at the local office of the SBA.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act provides certain legal protection for individuals entering or called to active duty. Relief extends to action terminating property leases, evictions, foreclosures, repossessions, default judgments, state and federal tax payments, minimum interest on loans and protection against lapse or termination of insurance policies.Generally terminated 30 to 90 days after discharge from active duty.

For more information, contact:
The American Legion
Washington Office
Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation
1608 K Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
or
E-mail: us here

Gulf War Veterans Health Concerns

Locate Hospital Records

A new service for Gulf War veterans is now available from the Department of Defense which will give thousands of these veterans access to their inpatient Hospital Medical Health Records for the first time. This could have an impact on the denial rate of Gulf War veterans' VA disability compensation claims. Veterans can call 1-800-497-6261 to find out if their inpatient treatment record has been accounted for and to obtain the paperwork necessary to request a copy of their records from the National Personnel Records Center.

To download a copy of the following bulletin, simply click on the link below. This file is available in Adobe Acrobat format.
PDF Document Locate Hospital Records

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers comprehensive physical examinations The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has offered comprehensive physical examinations to any veteran who served on active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Gulf War. Veterans who choose to participate are asked about their medical history, their experiences in the Gulf War, including possible exposures to environmental hazards, and health problems they have had since returning from the Gulf region. They receive a complete physical examination; basic laboratory tests are performed on blood and urine. If medically necessary, veterans may receive more specialized tests and consultations.

The results of each examination are included in the veteran's permanent medical record and may help support a claim for disability compensation. As of January 27, 2003, 85,048 Gulf War veterans have completed the registry health examination.

Family members are also eligible to participate in this health examination. The family member must be the spouse or child of a veteran (a) listed in the VA registry, and (b) suffering from an illness or disorder which cannot be disassociated from the veteran's service in the Gulf. To schedule this examination at the VA Medical center near you call 1-800-PGW-VETS (1-800-749-8387) or to learn more about this program visit VA's Gulf War veterans illnesses home page at http://www.va.gov/gulfwar/.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has a similar program called the Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program (CCEP). This program provides an in-depth evaluation of Gulf War veterans who are currently in one of the active Reserve components, or are retired. Personnel who would like to participate in the program are encouraged to call 1-800-796-9699 to set up an appointment. If you would like more information visit DOD's GulfLINK web site at http://www.gulflink.osd.mil.

Compensation Eligibility Amendment

Public Law 107-103, signed into law on December 27, 2002, amended compensation eligibility to include those who suffer from medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses that is defined by a cluster of signs or Symptoms, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. It also includes any diagnosed illness that the Secretary determines warrants a presumption of service-connection in the future.

Other symptoms on the presumptive list for undiagnosed illnesses include fatigue, symptoms involving the skin, headache, muscle and joint pains, neurologic symptoms, neuropsychological signs, respiratory problems, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal signs, cardiovascular symptoms, abnormal weight loss, and menstrual disorders.

VA and DOD Resources:

Helpline: 1-800-PGW-VETS
Local VA Office: 1-800-827-1000
To Clinical Evaluation: 1-800-796-9699
To Report Suspicious Incidents: 1-800-497-6261
Gulf War Illness Homepage: www.gulflink.osd.mil
Deployment Link Home Page: http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil

Public Affairs Office U.S. Army Center For Health Promotion And Preventive Medicine Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 21010-5403
For more information, call 410-436-2088/800-222-9698/FAX 410-436-4784

For immediate release:
PR 26-04
August 2, 2004

Gulf War veterans may find oil well fire exposure info on web site In addition to the risk of sustaining combat casualties, some of the U.S. troops deployed during the 1991 Gulf War were also exposed to the smoke from hundreds of oil well fires that burned out of control over a period of about nine months in 1991. Depending on their proximity to the burning oil wells, veterans could have been exposed to varying levels of petroleum combustion pollutants. Now, Gulf War veterans can get an assessment of the health risks from their exposure to the smoke by logging on to a U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) Gulf War Fires web site https://gulfwarfires.apgea.army.mil.

To document the extent of environment pollution from the burning oil wells, USACHPPM gathered air and soil samples in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia from May 1991 until November 1991, when the last oil well was capped. By combining this sample data with troop location data, the personnel registry, satellite images, and meteorological models, USACHPPM can estimate a Gulf War veteran's exposure to oil well fire smoke and any health risk from that exposure.

By entering their social security numbers on USACHPPM's Gulf War Fires secure web site, Gulf War veterans can get personalized information about their exposure to oil well fire smoke, including a map of their units' known locations in theater, their health risk associated with exposure to oil well fire smoke and USACHPPM's method of calculating exposure and health risk.

An online form makes it easy for veterans to request a signed copy of their exposure and risk report. Answers to frequently asked questions related to exposure and health risk calculation are also provided on the web site.

For those who would like to learn more about the oil well fires set in Kuwait by retreating Iraqi forces during the 1991 Gulf War, read DoD's Oil Well Fires Environmental Exposure Report at http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/owf_ii/.