Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations

Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309679109
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
More than 3.7 million U.S. service members have participated in operations taking place in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations since 1990. These operations include the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, a post-war stabilization period spanning 1992 through September 2001, and the campaigns undertaken in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Deployment to Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan exposed service members to a number of airborne hazards, including oil-well fire smoke, emissions from open burn pits, dust and sand suspended in the air, and exhaust from diesel vehicles. The effects of these were compounded by stressors like excessive heat and noise that are inevitable attributes of service in a combat environment. Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations reviews the scientific evidence regarding respiratory health outcomes in veterans of the Southwest Asia conflicts and identifies research that could feasibly be conducted to address outstanding questions and generate answers, newly emerging technologies that could aid in these efforts, and organizations that the Veterans Administration might partner with to accomplish this work.

Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations

Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309679109
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
More than 3.7 million U.S. service members have participated in operations taking place in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations since 1990. These operations include the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, a post-war stabilization period spanning 1992 through September 2001, and the campaigns undertaken in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Deployment to Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan exposed service members to a number of airborne hazards, including oil-well fire smoke, emissions from open burn pits, dust and sand suspended in the air, and exhaust from diesel vehicles. The effects of these were compounded by stressors like excessive heat and noise that are inevitable attributes of service in a combat environment. Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations reviews the scientific evidence regarding respiratory health outcomes in veterans of the Southwest Asia conflicts and identifies research that could feasibly be conducted to address outstanding questions and generate answers, newly emerging technologies that could aid in these efforts, and organizations that the Veterans Administration might partner with to accomplish this work.

Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan

Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and Afghanistan PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030921758X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Many veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have health problems they believe are related to their exposure to the smoke from the burning of waste in open-air "burn pits" on military bases. Particular controversy surrounds the burn pit used to dispose of solid waste at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, which burned up to 200 tons of waste per day in 2007. The Department of Veterans Affairs asked the IOM to form a committee to determine the long-term health effects from exposure to these burn pits. Insufficient evidence prevented the IOM committee from developing firm conclusions. This report, therefore, recommends that, along with more efficient data-gathering methods, a study be conducted that would evaluate the health status of service members from their time of deployment over many years to determine their incidence of chronic diseases.

Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment

Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment PDF Author: Coleen P. Baird
Publisher: Department of the Army
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
NOTE: NO FURTHER DISCOUNT FOR THIS PRINT PRODUCT-- OVERSTOCK SALE -- Significantly reduced list price Developed from the Airborne Hazards Symposium held in Washington, DC, in August 2012, this book covers diagnosis and workup of symptomatic individuals, exposure characterization, current epidemiology, the potential role of pulmonary function testing (spirometry) in surveillance, strategic research planning, clinical follow-up and registries, risk communication, etc. Symposium presentations were delivered by a diverse group of scientific experts and contain valuable veteran perspectives. This book represents a compendium of what is currently known regarding the potential long-term health consequences of exposure to airborne hazards during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn deployments. Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment presents a balanced, comprehensive approach to furthering the understanding of airborne hazards during deployments and other military operations, ultimately improving airborne hazard prevention, protection, and avoidance while improving healthcare and minimizing adverse health outcomes of our service members and veterans.

Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment

Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment PDF Author: The Borden Institute, U.S. Army Medical Department
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 0160939011
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
Developed from the Airborne Hazards Symposium held in Washington, DC, in August 2012, this book covers diagnosis and workup of symptomatic individuals, exposure characterization, current epidemiology, the potential role of pulmonary function testing (spirometry) in surveillance, strategic research planning, clinical follow-up and registries, risk communication, etc. Symposium presentations were delivered by a diverse group of scientific experts and contain valuable veteran perspectives. This book represents a compendium of what is currently known regarding the potential long-term health consequences of exposure to airborne hazards during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn deployments. Airborne Hazards Related to Deployment presents a balanced, comprehensive approach to furthering the understanding of airborne hazards during deployments and other military operations, ultimately improving airborne hazard prevention, protection, and avoidance while improving healthcare and minimizing adverse health outcomes of our service members and veterans.

Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309451175
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Military operations produce a great deal of trash in an environment where standard waste management practices may be subordinated to more pressing concerns. As a result, ground forces have long relied on incineration in open-air pits as a means of getting rid of refuse. Concerns over possible adverse effects of exposure to smoke from trash burning in the theater were first expressed in the wake of the 1990â€"1991 Gulf War and stimulated a series of studies that indicated that exposures to smoke from oil-well fires and from other combustion sources, including waste burning, were stressors for troops. In January 2013, Congress directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and maintain a registry for service members who may have been exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes generated by open burn pits. Assessment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry analyzes the initial months of data collected by the registry and offers recommendations on ways to improve the instrument and best use the information it collects. This report assesses the effectiveness of the VA's information gathering efforts and provides recommendations for addressing the future medical needs of the affected groups, and provides recommendations on collecting, maintaining, and monitoring information collected by the VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry.

Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan

Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309152852
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society

Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309489539
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.

The Burn Pits

The Burn Pits PDF Author: Joseph Hickman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510743200
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
“There’s a whole chapter on my son Beau… He was co-located [twice] near these burn pits.” –Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States of America The Agent Orange of the 21st Century… Thousands of American soldiers are returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan with severe wounds from chemical war. They are not the victims of ruthless enemy warfare, but of their own military commanders. These soldiers, afflicted with rare cancers and respiratory diseases, were sickened from the smoke and ash swirling out of the “burn pits” where military contractors incinerated mountains of trash, including old stockpiles of mustard and sarin gas, medical waste, and other toxic material. This shocking work, now for the first time in paperback, includes: Illustration of the devastation in one soldier’s intimate story A plea for help Connection between the burn pits and Major Biden’s unfortunate suffering and death The burn pits’ effects on native citizens of Iraq: mothers, fathers, and children Denial from the Department of Defense and others Warning signs that were ignored and much more Based on thousands of government documents, over five hundred in-depth medical case studies, and interviews with more than one thousand veterans and active-duty GIs, The Burn Pits will shock the nation. The book is more than an explosive work of investigative journalism—it is the deeply moving chronicle of the many young men and women who signed up to serve their country in the wake of 9/11, only to return home permanently damaged, the victims of their own armed forces’ criminal negligence.

Marathon War

Marathon War PDF Author: Jeffrey Schloesser Major General US Army Retired
Publisher: Knox Press
ISBN: 1682619907
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
War is the most brutal of human endeavors, and I have experienced enough war to know to take cover when politicians and poets and armchair warriors speak extravagantly of patriotism and national honor. Join Major General Schloesser in the daily grind of warfare fought in the most forbidding of terrain, with sometimes uncertain or untested allies, Afghan corruption and Pakistani bet hedging, and the mounting casualties of war which erode and bring into question Schloesser’s most profoundly held convictions and beliefs. Among several battles, Schloesser takes readers deep into the Battle of Wanat, where nine U.S. soldiers were killed in a fierce, up-close fight to prevent a new operating base from being overrun. This encounter required Schloesser to make tactical decisions that had dramatic strategic impact, and led him to doubts: Can this war even be won? If so, what will it take? This book is a rare insight and reflection into the thoughts of critical national decision-makers including President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, then Senator Barack Obama, and numerous foreign leaders including Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Key military leaders—including then Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, then Central Command Commanding General David Petraeus, then Lieutenant General and future Chairman Martin Dempsey, and International Security Force Commander General David McKiernan—all play roles in the book, among many others, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville. Analyzing their leadership in the chaos of war Schloesser ultimately concludes that successful leadership in combat is best based on competence, courage, and character.

Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune

Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309136997
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
In the early 1980s, two water-supply systems on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were found to be contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). The water systems were supplied by the Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point watertreatment plants, which served enlisted-family housing, barracks for unmarried service personnel, base administrative offices, schools, and recreational areas. The Hadnot Point water system also served the base hospital and an industrial area and supplied water to housing on the Holcomb Boulevard water system (full-time until 1972 and periodically thereafter). This book examines what is known about the contamination of the water supplies at Camp Lejeune and whether the contamination can be linked to any adverse health outcomes in former residents and workers at the base.