Operation Forgotten Warrior II

We would like to thank our members in supporting us in this operation.

Operation Forgotten Warrior II was our project to help to get the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs to understand that the Desert Storm Veterans are still here and that they are not getting the care and the benefits as per laws and regulations.

The leadership of the NGWRC, working with our fellow Gulf War Veterans, DVA leadership, and researchers set out to improve the services and care for Gulf War Veterans. Some of the changes will help the veterans who have a Chronic Multisymptom Illness [such as undiagnosed illness (commonly called Gulf War Illness), Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (a digestive system illness with no structural cause)] better navigate the VA health care and benefits systems.

We worked to improve the C&P exams on these issues and will keep the pressure on the VA.

We worked to restart the newsletter for the veterans, now in an online form. We must all keep working as it has been 8 months since the PACT Act was signed into law and the VA still has not changed the information on gulf war claim in their M 21-1 manual, the VA’s websites and have not updated the regulations of 38 CFR 3.317 and 38 CFR 3.320.
We all need to be calling out elected officials on this as we cannot have it take over 3 years was it did when the changes happened in 2001. Then the VA took until June 2003 to update the CFR on the presumptive and never really called them that in the M 21-1. This caused over 60% of the claims to be denied that should never have been.