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Background: Burn pits were used as a way to dispose of and destroy waste at military sites in Iraq and Afghanistan. Examples of things burned were chemicals, paint, medical waste, human waste, metal/aluminum cans, munitions, other unexploded ordnance, petroleum and lubricant products, plastics, rubber, wood, and discarded food. The VA maintains that high levels of dust and pollutants in the air already were just as dangerous or more. However, these burn pits potentially (...)
Read MoreBACKGROUND: Between 1953 and 1987, over one million military personnel and their family members were stationed at the United States Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina. During this time frame, people living on the base, military service members, and civilians were drinking, cooking with, and bathing in contaminated water. The base water treatment facilities and a dry-cleaning company in the local area were responsible for the chemicals contaminating the water. (...)
Read MoreThroughout the Vietnam War, C-123 aircrafts were used to spray the toxic herbicide Agent Orange. The aircrafts were found to still have traces of the chemical in them afterward while they were being used, up until 1986. If you flew on, or worked with, any C-123 aircrafts in Vietnam or other locations, you may have had contact with Agent Orange and could have a claim for a service-connected disability. Why Did This Happen? The VA was made aware of multiple complaints and concerns (...)
Read MoreIn filing a claim for disability compensation, a veteran must first “establish service connection”. What is “service connection”? It is the link showing the veteran’s current illness or disability to the veteran’s military service. Here are the five ways a veteran can establish service connection. Direct Service Connection Direct service connection can be established by providing evidence, military or service treatment records, to the VA showing the (...)
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