WASHINGTON –When troops now committed to the Middle East return home, they will benefit from a wide array of programs and services not available to veterans during previous conflicts, according to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.
“Bullets and shrapnel are not the only hazards of the modern battlefield,” Principi said. “We have learned from the bitter lessons of the wars of the 20th century. For any armed conflict in the Middle East, we will be on the alert for environmental exposures and other unforeseen risks to the health of our service personnel.”
Principi noted that since 1998 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has had the authority to provide free medical care for veterans newly returned from a combat zone, even without a service-connected disability. That eligibility lasts for two years after a veteran leaves active duty, although anyone with medical problems related to military service can qualify for life-long VA health care.
“VA’s on-going partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) will greatly reduce problems experienced by previous generations of veterans,” Principi said.
Specifically, he cited the development by VA and DoD of standardized guidelines for physicians examining military personnel after deployment and the establishment by VA of War-Related Illness Centers in Washington and East Orange, N.J., to provide research and professional education about deployment-related health issues.
“VA applauds the efforts of the Department of Defense to prevent health problems among deployed troops,” Principi said. “Today’s high-tech equipment and preventative medicine programs demonstrate DoD’s commitment to the health of the troops.”
“Under President Bush’s leadership, VA and DoD have developed robust processes to address potential health consequences of deployment and to provide high quality health care and disability assistance to active duty personnel and veterans. We are better prepared to do this than at any other time in history,” Principi said.
Principi acknowledged that many efforts taken on behalf of recently deployed troops are an outgrowth of lessons learned from the health problems that many Gulf War veterans experienced after returning home.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with DoD to address force health protection and veterans’ issues now and in the future,” Principi said.
Besides working with DoD on deployment issues, Principi noted that VA’s health care system serves as a back-up to the military’s hospitals during wars or other national emergencies.
For more than a year, the senior health care leaders of both departments have met regularly in the new VA-DoD Health Executive Council to coordinate efforts. Collaboration between VA and DoD range from sharing medical facilities in Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Anchorage, Key West and other locations to allowing some military members and their families to refill their prescription drugs at a VA mail-out pharmacy.
“In addition to the range of new programs specifically designed for the newest generation of combat veterans, VA is also prepared to provide the benefits that veterans have expected since World War II – GI Bill home loan guarantees, educational assistance, plus disability compensation and health care for service-disabled veterans,” Principi said.
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