[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
KARSHI-KHANABAD: HAZARDOUS EXPOSURES
AND EFFECTS ON U.S. SERVICEMEMBERS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
February 27, 2020
__________
Serial No. 116-94
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Reform
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on: govinfo.gov,
docs.house.gov or
oversight.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-932 PDF WASHINGTON : 2020
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COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York, Chairwoman
Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of Jim Jordan, Ohio, Ranking Minority
Columbia Member
Wm. Lacy Clay, Missouri Paul A. Gosar, Arizona
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Jim Cooper, Tennessee Thomas Massie, Kentucky
Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia Mark Meadows, North Carolina
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Jody B. Hice, Georgia
Jamie Raskin, Maryland Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin
Harley Rouda, California James Comer, Kentucky
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Michael Cloud, Texas
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Bob Gibbs, Ohio
Peter Welch, Vermont Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Jackie Speier, California Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Robin L. Kelly, Illinois Chip Roy, Texas
Mark DeSaulnier, California Carol D. Miller, West Virginia
Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan Mark E. Green, Tennessee
Stacey E. Plaskett, Virgin Islands Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota
Ro Khanna, California W. Gregory Steube, Florida
Jimmy Gomez, California Frank Keller, Pennsylvania
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York
Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
Rashida Tlaib, Michigan
Katie Porter, California
Deb Haaland, New Mexico
David Rapallo, Staff Director
Daniel Rebnord, Subcommittee Staff Director
Matthew Patane, Professional Staff
Joshua Zucker, Assistant Clerk
Contact Number: 202-225-5051
Christopher Hixon, Minority Staff Director
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Subcommittee on National Security
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts, Chairman
Jim Cooper, Tennesse Jody B. Hice, Georgia, Ranking
Peter Welch, Vermont Minority Member
Harley Rouda, California Paul A. Gosar, Arizona
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Robin L. Kelly, Illinois Mark Meadows, North Carolina
Mark DeSaulnier, California Michael Cloud, Texas
Stacey E. Plaskett, Virgin Islands Mark E. Green, Tennessee
Brenda L. Lawrence, Michigan Clay Higgins, Louisiana
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Hearing held on February 27, 2020................................ 1
Witnesses
Mr. Paul B. Widener Jr., K2 Veteran, Retired Master Sergeant,
U.S. Air Force
Oral Statement................................................... 5
Mrs. Kim E. Brooks, Spouse of Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Brooks,
U.S. Army
Oral Statement................................................... 7
Mr. Scott W. Welsch, K2 Veteran, Retired Chief Warrant Officer 2,
U.S. Army
Oral Statement................................................... 8
Written opening statements and statements for the witnesses are
available on the U.S. House of Representatives Document
Repository at: docs.house.gov.
Index of Documents
----------
Documents entered into the record during this hearing and
Questions for the Record (QFR's) are available at:
docs.house.gov.
* Statement from Douglas Wilson; submitted by Chairman Lynch.
* Statement from Mark Jackson; submitted by Chairman Lynch.
KARSHI-KHANABAD: HAZARDOUS EXPOSURES.
AND EFFECTS ON U.S. SERVICEMEMBERS
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Thursday, February 27, 2020
House of Representatives
Subcommittee on National Security
Committee on Oversight and Reform
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:33 p.m., in
room 2247, Rayburn Office Building, Hon. Stephen Lynch,
presiding.
Present: Representatives Lynch, Grothman, Welch, Hice, and
Green of Tennessee.
Mr. Lynch. This subcommittee will come to order.
Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
recess of this committee at any time.
This hearing is entitled, ``Karshi-Khanabad: Hazardous
Exposures and the Effects on U.S. Service Members.''
I now recognize myself for five minutes for an opening
statement.
It has now been nearly two decades since the United States
came under attack on September 11, 2001. For all of us who
remember that fateful day, the images of planes crashing into
the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville,
Pennsylvania will forever be seared in our memories.
It is also important to remember that in the weeks and
months that followed our Nation deployed tens of thousands of
our active military and National Guard and Reserves. While tens
of thousands of civilians also stepped forward to enlist in the
military or join the State Department and other government
agencies to serve our country.
In total the United Stated deployed over 100,000 uniformed,
service members to Afghanistan to take the fight to al-Qaeda
and the Taliban to defend our homeland and bring those
responsible to justice. Of particular note, to support our
operations in Afghanistan, the United States established Camp
Stronghold Freedom at Karshi-Khanabad Airbase in Uzbekistan,
which is also known as K2. While K2 had been previously
occupied by the Soviet Army during their incursions into
Afghanistan during the 1980's, the base, which is about 100
miles from the Afghan border became operationally and
strategically critical to the Afghan mission from 2001 to 2005.
It is important to note, especially for the purposes of
this hearing that there is also evidence that K2 had been
contaminated with various toxic chemicals and radiological
hazards by its previous occupants, the Soviet Army. Service
members who deployed to K2 reported seeing ``pond water that
glowed green'' and ``black goo oozing from the ground.'' These
hazards were reportedly caused by prior explosion at the
missile storage facility, abandoned fuel, and other chemicals
and sources of depleted uranium.
Exposure to these hazards has also reportedly led to cancer
and other health problems among K2 veterans. To make matters
worse, despite the evidence and as many K2 veterans have come
forward with various cancers, some in advanced stages, and
other related health problems to seek assistance and
acknowledgement of their illnesses, the V.A. has thus far
repeatedly failed or refused to acknowledge their illnesses as
service-connected disabilities.
Today we will hear directly from some of those affected
veterans and their families and about their difficulties in
getting the V.A. to recognize their health conditions as
related to their service at K2. In January, Chairwoman Maloney
and I requested information from the Department of Defense and
the V.A. about K2. So, far the responses from both departments
have been far below the standard that we should expect and that
these veterans and their families deserve.
To date DOD has yet to provide any of the documents we
asked for and has instead told the committee it would provide a
more detailed response in three months. That is three months
that K2 veterans, including those suffering from cancer will be
kept waiting. Waiting for answers. In addition, the only
document the V.A. produced to the committee is a publicly
available health assessment from the United States Army. While
preliminary, even that report recognizes that there were
statistically higher instances of cancer among K2 veterans and
stated that its results, ``May motivate further
investigation.''
In addition, earlier this week I was joined by my colleague
from Tennessee, Representative Green, to introduce a bill that
would direct the Secretary of Defense to study toxic exposures
among K2 veterans and direct Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
establish a registry regarding those exposures. I want to thank
the gentleman of--from Tennessee for his courageous service to
our Nation and for working with me on this critical, important
issue.
I was fortunate to meet with two of our witnesses a few
weeks ago when they came to Washington, DC. to advocate on
behalf of those who had served at K2. Their stories were heart
wrenching, but also, I think, reflect the patriotism and the
strength of the human spirit that exists in the hearts of our
veterans and their families.
There were stories of U.S. service members, who after this
Nation was attacked, deployed bravely to K2 to support
Operation Enduring Freedom. There were stories of men and women
in uniform dedicated to their mission and of patriots committed
to serving their country. Yet their stories and the stories of
other veterans who served at K2 are also extremely troubling,
too often because of how they end with a life-changing
diagnosis and unanswered questions from their government.
Unfortunately, we have seen this pattern play out before
from Agent Orange in Vietnam to military burn pits in Iraq and
Afghanistan. This is not the first time the V.A. has initially
refused to acknowledge certain health conditions as connected
to military service, only to have those judgments overruled and
a presumption of service-connected disability established when
additional information emerged.
To our witnesses, I want to thank you for being here today,
once again, to share your experiences. We want to get to the
bottom of what you, your families, and your brothers and
sisters in uniform have already experienced and continue to
struggle with to this day. One last thing before I close. To
any veterans who served at K2 or their families, if you have
got concerns about your health, the care you have received, or
want to share information with this committee about your
experience at K2, please reach out to myself or my staff at
202-225-5051. Again, 202-225-5051.
That information will get to myself and our colleagues at
both sides of the aisle. We intend to continue to investigate
this issue to ensure we fulfill this Nation's promise to our
service members and their families. I now yield to my friend,
the Ranking Member, Mr. Hice of Georgia, for his opening
statement.
Mr. Hice. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I
appreciate you holding this very important hearing.
And for each of our witnesses, I want to thank you for
taking time out of your busy schedules to come to Washington to
share your stories. We deeply appreciate that. Your hard work
to try to make a difference is greatly appreciated. We welcome
you here. I want to assure each of you that we hear you and we
are taking this issue very seriously and want to address it
appropriately and as quickly as possible.
I will be brief in my remarks because I really want to hear
your stories. But it is worth noting, Mr. Chairman, that I
really believe that we are in a unique opportunity right now,
particularly in the partisan environment that we are watching
here in Congress right now to come together on an issue like
this and to work together to solve this problem. So, again, I
thank you for holding this hearing.
It is alarming to read the stories from our witnesses and
the stories described in the McClatchy Investigation. It is
quite alarming. In the fall of 2001, after the horrible attacks
of September 11th on our homeland, we deployed troops to K2
Airbase in Uzbekistan in preparation for the invasion of
Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, as the chairman has already mentioned, the
efforts that led up to that exposed our men and women in
uniform to toxic and dangerous chemicals. And when you hear the
stories of ponds turning green and black sludge pooling in
tents, even contaminated soil being used to fill sandbags in
hopes of rectifying the problem, it is just rather mind-
boggling and chilling to all of us who hear and read these
kinds of stories.
In the years since then, as we can all imagine, there have
been innumerable reports of illnesses, cancers, death, and so
forth among these service members. In fact, sadly there's been
more than 300 self-reported cases of cancer. Literally, and I
don't say this flippantly, I pray for those families and those
service members for speedy recovery, full recovery, and I
encourage others to do the same.
But today, I hope that we can get a better understanding
here in this hearing of what you saw, what you experienced, and
what you've been through since that time. This past January, as
the chairman mentioned, he and Chairwoman Maloney wrote letters
to the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affair, asking for
more information, and it has been pretty dismal, the response.
I am concerned with the vague answers that we received from
the V.A., unhelpful answers. But they did indicate, and I am
not sure exactly what it means, that they have attempted to
start an analysis. Yes, I think that can be good news, but it
is certainly is too little, too late for too many of our
service men and women.
So, I hope that the Department of Defense will have more
productive response and that we can get to the answers that
each of you need and so many others need. Last year we saw
Congress take a step forward in helping our veterans, who were
negatively affected by burn pits that were used to dispose of
toxic waste. In that case, Congress mandated that the
Department of Defense provide a list of all the burn pit sites
to the V.A. And, of course, in so doing that took a lot of the
burden off of individuals.
We need something similar in this case. The V.A. told the
committee that the Department of Defense transferred a roster
of all the service members who served at K2. That's a good
start, but we can't stop there. These men and women who served
at K2 should be notified and they also should be provided
specific tests at the V.A. Medical Centers nearest them.
Earlier this month the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
Robert Wilkie, did acknowledge that the men and women at K2 may
have been exposed to toxic substances. I want to give a quote
that he made. He said, ``Those who have been exposed to
something at K2, be it Blue Water Navy veterans, be it those
who still suffer the impacts of Agent Orange, come and see us.
File the claims. Come speak to us. This is not your
grandfather's V.A., where the paperwork is going to last 10
years. We have people ready to help. That is the message I give
to K2.''
That is encouraging to hear. At least he is wanting the
V.A. to step up and address this issue straight up. But based
on at least my understanding, that is not the current reality
of what our veterans are experiencing at the V.A. So, it is our
job as Congress to fight for the American people. That is who
sent us here and that is what we are here to do. And what
better reason for us to act and help our men and women who
served our country in the most dangerous regions of the world
and put their lives on the line.
So, again, I want to thank you for being here.
And thank Representative Green for being here who. He also
has a story and an experience there.
Mr. Chairman, to you as well, thank you for holding this
hearing. I yield back.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields back. At this time I would
like to welcome our witnesses officially. Today we are joined
by Paul B. Widener, Jr., a K2 veteran, retired Master Sergeant,
United States Air Force; Kim E. Brooks, spouse of Lieutenant
Colonel Timothy Brooks, United States Army; and Scott Welsch, a
K2 veteran, and retired Chief Warrant Officer, United States
Army.
It is the custom of this committee to ask witnesses to be
sworn. Could you please rise and raise your right hand? Do you
swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about to give
is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so
help you God?
[Witnesses are sworn.]
Mr. Lynch. Please be seated. Let the record show that the
witnesses answered in the affirmative.
The microphones are sensitive, so please speak directly
into them. Without objection, your written statements will be
made part of the record. With that, Master Sergeant Widener,
you are now recognized to give an oral presentation of your
testimony.
STATEMENT OF PAUL B. WIDENER, JR., RETIRED, MASTER SERGEANT,
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Mr. Widener. Thank you Mr. Lynch. We'd like to thank you
Chairman Lynch and distinguished members of the committee for
inviting me to testify.
My name is Paul B. Widener, Jr., Master Sergeant, United
States Air Force, Retired. I am here as a Special Operations
veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom. I deployed five times,
serving 22 months in total. I come before you to plead for you
to correct the failure of the DOD and the Department of
Veterans Affairs to safeguard an act for the health interest of
approximately 7,000 service members exposed to radiation and
toxic conditions.
Immediately after 9/11, I participated in the strategic
planning for the initial phases of Enduring Freedom. We needed
an air bridge into northern Afghanistan. Special Operations
Mission Planners evaluated--evaluated all available detailed
intelligence about K2. No radiation, NBC remnants, or any other
form of contamination was identified at that time. K2 was
selected as a deployment location for Special Ops and
supporting conventional forces.
It is essential to emphasize the linking of intelligence
between agencies only occurred after OEF was well underway and
part of that was a result of the 9/11 Commission. However,
immediately into the deployment K2 personnel encountered
dangerous, troubling conditions from radiation, toxic
substances, and unknown contaminants. Environmental surveys
were completed.
Each time a new contaminant or hazard occurred in a
different location; the finding was subsequently classified.
There were troubling denials. They rationalized that--
rationalized that contaminant detection was a result of
construction, paint fumes, vehicle exhaust, whether it was true
or not.
The DOD asserted that piling up contaminated, radioactive
soil into a 35-foot-tall, earthen berm, which was originally
built as a force protection measure, would somehow also serve
to take and protect service members inside that berm from
exposure to higher levels of radiation from the radiation field
that literally was feet from the other side of the berm.
Many fell ill while they were deployed. Headaches, vision
problems, a wide variety of GI disorders, skin rashes, several
literally had hair fall out in patches. My duty station was
less than 10 feet from a shelter with known radiation
contamination and nerve agent contamination. The DOD did not
mitigate any risks within the work and living area at K2.
One warm day in 2002 the entire 20th Special Forces group
staff was incapacitated, requiring medical treatment.
Investigation showed the presence of nerve agent in the
aircraft shelter they were occupying coming up through the
floor. Fearing denial of their cause of incapacitation, the
20th Special Forces group tested the K2 compound in its
entirety using their weapons of mass destruction experts for
chemical and toxic agents.
Testing revealed the presence of nerve agent, blister
agent, a wide presence of cyanide, both in the compound, on the
ground, and also within the water in the lavatories and in the
toilets. Another false alarm we were told, but you can't go
back into that--that you'd been in before, even though it was a
false alarm.
K2 members were told repeatedly that no significant risk
from hazards existed. Asked about long-term effects, we were
told long-term exposure to risks is unknown. Why did the DOD
manufacture chemical agent and radiation danger and warning
signs if there were no risks? In the very location Uzbek
construction workers fell gravely ill and one--were unable to
work due to toxic conditions, these same hazards remarkably
disappeared when Americans occupied the exact same space. There
were no briefings on toxic exposures, no protective equipment
recommended, issued, or employed.
Several doctors deploying to K2 wrote Nexus letters to warn
home station health providers and document exposure to
contaminants, but every doctor's letter and every post-
deployment health survey of service members documenting toxic
exposure was removed from each member's DOD service medical
record. There was no categorization of K2 as a hazardous duty
location with radiation, chemical, and toxic agents, nor was
the V.A. provided a list or hazards.
The Deployment Health Control Center at Walter Reed Medical
Center told the V.A. that no hazards existed. That K2 members--
however, K2 members cannot access testing for depleted uranium.
We cannot access the Burn Pit Registry. We cannot access the
Toxic Exposure Registry. And we can't be evaluated for
radiation exposure.
Despite Secretary Wilkie's assertion on February 5, 2020 at
the National Press Club that Minority Member Hice said that
Secretary Wilkie indicated we wouldn't have to wait for 10
years, in fact, we've been waiting for 18 years. I'd like to
quote from Secretary Wilkie, where he said, ``The V.A. is
waiting and ready to help K2 veterans.'' But there is no access
to care or service connection for exposure conditions when a
member leaves active duty.
Because we have not heard from the V.A. or the DOD in the
past eight years, despite efforts from active duty special
operators and the Stronghold Freedom Foundation, we are
conducting a health survey approved by Dr. Omar Hamada.
Completed surveys for 1,200 of 3,700 members of our K2 group
indicate cancer rates at 14 percent. The incidence of brain
cancer in our general population is 1 in 15,000. We have
approximately 30 brain cancers in our cohort of 7,000 K2
deployers so far. We are tracking over 20 separate disease
processes. K2 group members have reported over 400 cases of
cancer Since December 1919.
Our nations' bravest warriors are sick and dying from their
service at K2. According to Dr. Omar Hamada, 20th Special
Forces Group Flight Surgeon and Dive Officer, significant
cancer and health risks exist from the exposure at K2. There
are K2 veterans who will not be kissing anyone at New Year's
Eve this next year. They're going to be on the other side of
the grave. We beg you to right this injustice. Ensure Operation
Enduring Freedom Combat veterans receive the medical care they
deserve related to or caused by toxic exposures and radiation
they encountered while defending the cause of liberty and
freedom. Thank you.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you.
Ms. Brooks, you are now recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF KIM E. BROOKS, SPOUSE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL
TIMOTHY BROOKS, UNITED STATES ARMY
Ms. Brooks. Thank you, Chairman Lynch and distinguished
members of the committee for inviting me to testify.
My name is Kim Brooks and I am here today because my
husband, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Brooks, can't be. He was
deployed to Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan in the wake of 9/11 and
died of brain cancer in May 2004 at the age of 36. Because he
was diagnosed on active duty we are one of the very few K2
families to have received full DOD and V.A. benefits. I am here
to ask, to plead really, that you do everything in your power
to ensure that other K2 veterans and families receive the
medical and financial support that they deserve.
Tim arrived at K2 with the 10th Mountain Division in late
2001. There he would wake in the morning with a thick layer of
dust upon his face. He had no idea what the black gunk was that
oozed up from the floor of his tent. He returned home,
apparently, safe in spring 2002 and attended a post-deployment
briefing. There they told him he had been exposed to some
really bad stuff and asked him to sign a form acknowledging the
exposure.
Fourteen months after Tim returned home, we together sat at
a pre-deployment ceremony for his battalion. They were headed
to Iraq. Suddenly, he put his head in his hands saying that he
felt ill. We barely made it through the gym doors before he
collapsed. We soon learned that he had a stage 3 astrocytoma,
which would quickly prove lethal. We were grateful for the
treatment he had received, yet Tim had been angry. Angry to be
so sick, so young, when he had so much living still to do.
Suspecting toxic exposure at K2, we had asked about other
K2 service members. Had any others fallen ill? We learned that
20 to 23 K2 service personnel were being evaluated and treated
for brain cancers and other neurological conditions at the
time.
Because my husband was on active duty, the military paid
for all of his medical care--medical care and continued to pay
his salary. We didn't have to worry about how we would afford
treatment or how we would afford to live once Tim was no longer
able to work. Sorry. We could focus on trying to save his life
and on spending what little time we had left together. He died
one year and one day after his diagnosis, Memorial Day weekend
2004.
Devastated, we left our Army home and moved to Norwood,
Massachusetts. But I was far less scared than I might have been
because I knew that I could rely on military and V.A. benefits,
receiving V.A. disability and indemnity compensation, plus
Social Security, continued Tri-Care, and V.A. education
benefits in concert with my teaching salary meant that I had
the financial means to raise my four children.
They have grown into incredible adults, in no small part
due to the financial and educational support we were fortunate
to receive and the stability and opportunity that it had
provided. Meghan is behind me. A Yale law graduate, she is a
legal aid lawyer working with veterans. Brian graduated from
Boston College and now works in the technology sector. John, a
2018 West Point graduate, will deploy with the 2/508 Parachute
Infantry Regiment out of Fort Bragg to Iraq this spring. And if
I am honest, I am worried for his and his fellow soldiers'
safety. Our youngest, Stephen, is set to play Georgetown--
football at Georgetown in the fall. I am so very proud of each
of them.
But I would now like to share the story of Debbora Benner
and her two children, Zachary and Lily. Debby's husband, Master
Sergeant John Benner, was at K2 around the same time as Tim
and, like Tim, his health deteriorated after he returned home
in 2002, yet John's stage 3 pancreatic cancer was not diagnosed
until 2009, three years after he retired. He died February 15,
2011. Had John and his doctors known the medical risks of
exposure at K2, they might have caught his cancer sooner.
Because John was diagnosed after he left service and because K2
is not recognized as a toxic exposure site, his family does not
receive DIC and cannot access educational assistance or most
other V.A. survivor's benefits.
This lack of recognition, of financial support, and of
educational opportunity magnify their loss and have made it
that much harder to heal. As it becomes increasingly clear that
K2--K2 veterans have and will develop cancers and other
toxicogenic conditions, Congress must act. It has been over 15
years since we lost Tim, but it is newly devastating to learn
that there are so many others going through the same pain and
loss that my family did, without the support that they were
promised when they decided to serve.
K2 families and veterans deserve to know the full extent of
what they were exposed to, so that they can focus on their
health and plan for their futures. They deserve free healthcare
monitoring to hopefully catch cancers and other illnesses
before they become death sentences. When they get sick, and
sadly it seems as many more have and will, they deserve full
access to V.A. healthcare and benefits. They deserve
presumptive service connection. I ask that you do everything in
your power to ensure that they are not forgotten. Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you.
Mr. Welsch, you are now recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF SCOTT W. WELSCH, RETIRED CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2,
UNITED STATES ARMY
Mr. Welsch. I'm Chief--I'm Chief Warrant Officer 2,
Retired, Scott W. Welsch of Lenexa, Kansas. I was on ground at
K2 from July 9, 2002 to March 16, 2003 and was diagnosed with
thyroid cancer in 2013. Thank you Chairman Lynch and
distinguished members of the committee for giving me the
opportunity to represent my fellow K2 veterans here today.
I'm here to describe the toxic conditions that we faced
there and the devastating effect that our exposure has had and
will continue to have on our health. I'm here to ask that after
almost 20 years of inaction, Congress, DOD, and V.A. does the
right thing. Take care of K2 veterans and their survivors.
I arrived at K2 in the early onset of the war on terror. We
arrived to the base in a combat landing in the middle of the
night. Out C17 landed in darkness and we unloaded our gear
under the--under the guise of night. We were assigned living
quarters of six-man tents. The entire area was surrounded by a
large dirt berm. The dirt berm was created from Earth, pushed
from the inside of the camp. Guard shacks were set up on top of
that berm. The guard shacks were manned 24/7 by lower,
enlisted, assigned guard duty.
There were rumors floating around that contaminants existed
on the base. There were signs posted that stated, keep out,
chemical agents. There were ponds that glowed green. All of
these were literally feet from where we lived, worked, and
performed physical training. These items all mad the rumors not
quite so much rumors, but more so truths.
As I previously stated, regardless of any suspicions of
hazards to our health at the time, we knew we had a job to do
and that we had to support war fighters down-range. So, we were
working in real time. We drove on and continued our mission. We
stomped through the dust that went up in our faces in the
summer. We waded through the mud caused by the flooding in the
spring and fall. We tramped through the snow in the winter.
Then we redeployed and came home, expecting to go back to life
as usual.
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014. My thyroid and
partial parathyroid were removed. I have no family history of
cancer. I had genetic counseling done and they specifically
stated that the cancer did not fit a pattern suggestive of a
hereditary cause. Thyroid cancer is caused by exposure to high
levels of radiation or a family history and family history had
been ruled out. The timeline for the symptoms and diagnosis are
directly in line with my deployment to K2.
I am in receipt of V.A. benefits; however, none of the V.A.
benefits I receive compensate for cancer. They claim that since
my thyroid was removed the cancer has been fully cured. They
claim that since my--however, I do have chronic kidney stones.
When my thyroid was removed they also partially removed my
parathyroid. Every patient with kidney stones should be tested
for a problem with their parathyroid; however, the V.A. has not
addressed my parathyroid, nor screened them for cancer.
I also do not receive any type of V.A. rating for the
chronic kidney stones, although I have submitted and
resubmitted claims over and over again. Kidney stones are
medically known to be caused by thyroid issues. It's not--
it's--it's noted on each declination that is not a service-
connected disability. I also get daily headaches that to date
have not been diagnosed. I receive a higher rating for the
headaches than I do for cancer. I receive a 30 percent rating
for headaches and a 0 percent rating for cancer, 0 percent.
I found the K2 Toxic Exposures group a couple years ago. I
joined them and I volunteered to help reaching out to K2
veterans to gain--to help gain insight into how many more were
having issues related to deployment at the base. It was eye-
opening once we began compiling the data. Absolutely eye-
opening. I knew there had to be others, but so many. I had no
idea. Soldiers, Marines, airmen, contractors, and family
members are self-reporting illnesses and fatalities to us. To
date we have 1,341 self-reported exposure-related illnesses and
30 reported deaths.
However, we have been told that empirical data is not
relevant for V.A. purposes. To date the V.A. has not contacted
me with a questionnaire asking me about my K2 illnesses. So, in
my opinion this empirical data is the only data being compiled
and the V.A. should be asking us for our data, instead of
criticizing or downplaying our efforts.
I would like the V.A. administration to address this issue
and make the effort to attain a full list of members that were
deployed to K2, then contact each and every one on this list to
get them in for a full physical and workup. If any exposure-
related health conditions are discovered, members should
receive lifelong healthcare for treatment and the appropriate
V.A. disability rating. For previously recognized illnesses, I
feel the V.A. should also give full, lifelong treatment and
accurate disability ratings.
We would also like the DOD to release any and all documents
that are relevant to conditions at K2. Thank you for allowing
me to share my story. Due to time restraints, I was not able to
share my entire story with you, but my written testimony does
provide more insight into the conditions at K2. I trust that
you will take the appropriate actions to provide the care that
we desperately need. Thank you.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you. Now before we turn to questions, I do
have a request for unanimous consent to enter into the record a
statement from Douglas R. Wilson of Florida, a retired
Technical Sergeant with the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Wilson served
at K2 for three months in late 2001 and early 2002. He was
diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma in 2016.
Without objections, it will be entered into the record.
Mr. Lynch. I would also like to ask unanimous consent to
enter into the record a written statement from Mark T. Jackson
of Florida. Mark was deployed to K2 with the United States Army
from July 23 through April 24. Without objection, his testimony
shall also be entered into the record.
Mr. Lynch. I now recognize myself for five minutes for
questions. Again, thank you for your willingness to come before
this committee on behalf of your colleagues and your family
members and to try to make this right. I appreciate that you
turned your own pain and your own suffering into an effort to
help your brothers and sisters in arms and other families that
are similarly affected.
We have asked for documents from DOD, Department of
Defense, and from the V.A. But we are taking a very broad look
at this. And I'm just curious, Mr. Widener, you know, you've
been very active at the front end of this and Mr. Welsch as
well, in terms of laying out what you would like to see. What
documents do you think would be most helpful to the Committee?
And look, if they are resisting us, we are going to have to
create our own registry, basically, within this committee and
just, as the evidence piles up it will be irrefutable at some
point.
So, you know, there is a way we can do this using the force
and the authority of this committee to go around the D.A.,
excuse me, the DOD and the V.A., in terms of gathering
evidence. I think that may compel the DOD and the V.A. to
cooperate. They have indicated that they are gathering
documents and in several months we will get those, but let's
just say I am not encouraged by their lack of response. So,
what do you see as the, you know, I see sort of a cross-
reference between DOD personnel that served at Karshi-Khanabad
and then also there are probably just--there are related
documents that the V.A. holds with respect to those individuals
who have presented with physical illnesses that are recorded at
the V.A.
So, there are two bodies of evidence here, but as Ms.
Brooks illuminates there are also others that are probably out
there that have no direct symptoms right now. Similar to the
woman in the family that you mentioned earlier, where, you
know, seven years went by between the time at which they
presented with some symptoms and then nine years later or seven
years later there was a diagnosis. So, what are the documents
and what is the information that you might be most helpful--
think most helpful in proving this case?
The ultimate goal here is, to the degree that it is humanly
possible, to restore the rights of these veterans, restore the
rights of their families, and create a presumption for those in
the future who might present. If they show on their record - if
their DD-214 says I served at, you know, K2, Karshi-Khanabad -
it would create an immediate presumption for healthcare and
service-connected disability with the V.A. So, those are our
goals. But what are the documents, the information you think
that will be most helpful?
Mr. Widener. Chairman Lynch, thank you for the opportunity,
again, to meet with the committee and answer your questions. I
think some of the most important documents for the commission
and for the committee would be the Baseline CHPPM Europe
Environmental Study that was done. I think we also have to
identify and locate all of the environmental testing documents,
the baseline documents. We need to be able to source the
chemical agent and radiological testing that was done at K2
throughout several years period. I don't know where the
repository of this information would be.
We do have some independent testing information we provided
to the committee as part of our testimony. I think it's
important, Chairman Lynch, that we realize that the U.S.
Government has done detailed research over many decades into
the effects, long-term effects of radiation upon service
members beginning in the World War II era and evaluating the
effects of--of nerve agents and mustard agents and blister
agents upon personnel. And we also have a large body of
existing scientific evidence, which identifies the problems
that people encounter when they're exposed to depleted uranium,
soluble and insoluble radiation of uranium, heavy metals, and a
variety of different components that we are exposed to.
I think we have to look at all the available scientific
evidence that exists in the realm within the DOD that's been
done by the U.S. Government, but also documents of scientific
studies that have already been produced.
Mr. Lynch. You have had a lot of contact with fellow
veterans, Mr. Welsch. You as well then served at K2. Is there
any indication that DOD did a thorough analysis on the site?
So, I know there are scientific studies out there regarding the
effects, but I am talking about a direct connection to the site
there at K2. Has there been any indication that anybody was
present or was aware of an investigation onsite at K2?
Mr. Widener. Yes, sir. Colonel John Mulholland, who was the
Special Operations Commander, commanded the Special Forces
Group. You might be familiar with the movie ``12 Strong'' that
was--that was produced about that. That occurred at K2. When
they started discovering the same things that were troubling
and--and were, quite frankly, frightening and shocking to the
conventional and Special Operations Forces that were there, he
raised the alarm to a higher chain of command. And through that
process they ordered an environmental study, which was--
resulted in a deployment of CHPPM-Europe Medical Group that
came out of Germany and they came there and did a detailed
study, including testing.
I'm in direct contact with one of the members of that test
team. I have a list of all of the original members of that test
team. I also have specific indication--specific information
that indicates that the CHPPM-European--Europe Study Team
remained at K2 for a prolonged period and continued to conduct
testing of the--of the soils, of the water, and radiological
events.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you very much.
The gentleman, Mr. Green, is now recognized for five
minutes of questioning.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Our Nation fought in Vietnam from 1962 to 1975. As early as
1977 cases were filed for individuals who were concerned about
exposure to Agent Orange. It was not until 1991 that Congress
passed an act to get something done. 1991. It wasn't until
2019, last year, that we included the Blue Water Navy people.
That is unacceptable.
Men and women who raise their right hand and are willing to
put their lives on the line for our freedom, that is simply
unacceptable. The burn pits, we have known about them for some
time, 2001 to really today in March 2019 there were still nine
burn pits active. Of course, this story and K2, with the
exposures there, with the units that were the very tip of our
Nation's spear. These are the most elite of the elite. And I
had the unbelievable privilege of serving in the 160th Special
Operations Aviation, the unit that flew the ``12 Strong'' guys
in and flew all the mission in Afghanistan and are still there
today. I, myself, spent a little bit of time at K2 as well.
I think many of the people in the room know that I have had
colon cancer and thyroid cancer. Who gets two primary cancers
at the same time, right? It is just unheard of. And when you
look at the genetics, I too did my genetic profile at
Vanderbilt University and I have no genetic predispositions to
either of those cancers and no family histories. So, in a sense
I have to kind of declare a conflict of interest in this, I
guess, but truth be known, it shouldn't happen to me. It
shouldn't happen to any of our warriors.
A friend of mine, Dr. Hamada, came to me and then I met
with these witnesses. And 7,000 warriors plus spent time at K2.
It is time we do something. Chairman Lynch and I met and
discussed this, and together we are going to launch, this week
I believe, sir, the K2 Veterans Toxic Exposure Accountability
Act of 2020. What that bill will do is set up the registry that
is necessary, require that to be set up. It will require DOD to
do the epidemiologic studies. And it will mandate that those
conditions that warrant it be listed as presumptive as you have
requested Ms. Brooks.
It is the right thing to do. And I know Chairman Lynch put
his information out there. I put mine out there as well,
MarkGreen.house.gov. Anybody wants to get in touch with us can
do that. If you feel like you were exposed and you need to get
connected, I know there is a Facebook page and I would like to
ask one of the witnesses or someone to now tell everybody what
that Facebook page is so that your folks--there may be somebody
out there who passed through K2 and isn't listed as staying
there for very long, but were there long enough to get an
exposure. So, if you could take the time now and let folks know
how they can connect to your organization that is fighting for
them.
Mr. Widener. Congressman Green, thank you and we thank you
for the legislation that you and Chairman Lynch are putting
together and have introduced this week. We think it's going to
be an important step forward.
We have two different means by which, at present, folks can
connect with the Stronghold Freedom Foundation. The first is if
a member deployed to K2 or if they are the surviving spouse or
immediate family member of someone who died from cancer related
to K2. They can contact us by looking up the K2 Toxic Exposure
Group on Facebook. If someone is a--just a family member, a
friend, or maybe they just are concerned about the issue and
would like to keep abreast of information, we have a Facebook
page which points outward toward the public that we provide
information to and we use this kind of as a public
clearinghouse at this time and that is a Stronghold Freedom
Foundation page.
Mr. Green. Wonderful. And I will ask you in the little bit
of time that I have remaining, and I know the answer to this
for all of you, but we are going to need you to help us lobby
the bill. I don't think it will take much, but help us
communicate your story to the rest of Congress, so that
Chairman Lynch and I can get this passed and passed quickly.
Thank you.
I yield.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields.
The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Vermont, Mr.
Welch, for five minutes.
Mr. Welch. Thank you. I concur with everything
Representative Green said. Thank you. And, Mr. Lynch, thank you
so much and, Mr. Hice, really appreciate it. I can't repeat it.
I can just say yes. I mean, men and women in uniform they show
up for duty and it is up to the command--it is really up to the
military to make certain that there is not unnecessary risk,
including health risk.
I have got a lot of folks in Vermont, who served in--were
exposed to burn pits. The example you gave about Agent Orange
is just amazing. Why not have the burden of proof be on the
government to show that it is not caused by a service-connected
event, as opposed to put the burden on the individuals when
they don't have any capacity whatsoever to accumulate the
information. So, you know, I hope in this case we can move
sooner, rather than later. It is tremendous to have this
incredible bipartisan support on this. So, I am in total
support of Mr. Lynch and Mr. Green, your legislation.
I got a letter--you guys, I mean, you have suffered, and
you know, that suffering is shared, you know. It's an honor to
have served with someone who died having served at this
location. Recounting all of the times they were together, all
of the deployments they had before this and after. How they
loved to play board games. Their families got together. I mean,
it is everything wonderful about that cohesiveness that you
have in the military. I am reading this and just seeing the joy
that these families had together, not just the soldiers, but
the partners of the soldiers and that cohesiveness. And the
pride they had in serving their country. That's a life well
spent. And this man died very prematurely in his 40's.
I am with you guys. Let's give the benefit of the doubt to
those who served. So, you know, I don't want to make you
restate everything you said. I do want to state my enormous
respect for you and my sorrow at your loss. And on this
question of transparency, I just want to reiterate, why in the
world wouldn't we be transparent. What have we got to hide?
What is the big deal? I mean, let's get the information out
there because we don't have this view that the commanders are
trying to hide something really. It is just like a bureaucratic
maw that sits on this.
So, again, I don't really have questions. I just have a lot
of appreciation for you. I will just join with my colleagues in
anything that I can do to help the sponsors of this bill get it
passed we will. But I think the point that was made, you
lobbying, your voice matters much more than our voice. You
know, people really here on both sides of the aisle respect
you, respect the loss, respect the service. And you speaking to
our colleagues, frankly, is much more powerful a voice than we
can be. So, thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Lynch. I thank the gentleman. He yields back.
Without objection, the gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr.
Grothman, shall be permitted to join the subcommittee on this
and will be recognized for questioning the witnesses in due
order. OK.
Mr. Hice. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and again, for the
spirit of this committee.
Again, we thank you for your stories and coming forward on
this. And we do hear you. I was interested with, Ms. Brooks,
what you shared with the McClatchy Investigation coming out.
One of the things that was mentioned in there was that there
were things wrong at K2 and that was one of the things that
your husband said immediately upon coming home. Could you just
elaborate a little bit more? What did he say was there?
Ms. Brooks. So, while Tim was deployed he'd sent--he wrote
letters, but he also had the opportunity to email. There was
one email in particular, where he wrote about the black gunk
and the dust. Now I'm taking care of four children. I read it,
filed it away, and he came home. He was a 6-foot, 5-inch, very
strong, tall man. He looked fine when he came home. And life
returned to normal, as normal as it can on an Army post.
He went off to work one day, came home, and said that he
had gone to--had been at, I don't know, some type of post-
deployment briefing. I believe he said the Fort Drum Theater,
and he--he was really upset. He said, I've been exposed to some
really bad stuff. I knew--I mean, my heart dropped.
Mr. Hice. Did he say that because of the way he was feeling
or what he had heard?
Ms. Brooks. No, no. No, no. He wasn't feeling anything that
I know of at that----
Mr. Hice. What made him say he was exposed to really bad
stuff?
Ms. Brooks. Because they told him that.
Mr. Hice. OK.
Ms. Brooks. Yes.
Mr. Hice. So, they were acknowledging it?
Ms. Brooks. They were acknowledging it.
Mr. Hice. OK.
Ms. Brooks. And from what I remember, he had signed some
type of form. They took it. We went on--on with life, and
eventually, he started having a lot of headaches. He was
presenting really, really--he was really tired. And 132
Infantry was preparing to go to Iraq, I think, Weapons of Mass
Destruction/Saddam Hussein, correct.
He just wasn't himself. He was more irritable. Just not a
lot of patience. And he was an incredibly loving father, who
took time out to hang with the kids all the time, playing
baseball, you name it, in the yard, it didn't matter. He came
home from work, he hugged them, he loved them. He told them he
loved them. Told, you know, I mean, just--but he was taking
naps, et cetera.
Then the collapse at the----
Mr. Hice. OK. Let me--thank you for that. Let me ask Mr.
Welch and Mr. Widener, both of you or either of you. During
your cancer treatments, did any doctor at any time discuss with
your deployment to K2?
Mr.Welsch. I--I brought it up and I brought it up to my
civilian endocrinologist.
Mr. Hice. Did they say anything?
Mr. Welsch. No.
Mr. Hice. So, you brought it up and they just----
Mr. Welsch. I--I brought it up and she wrote me Nexus
Letter to provider, and nothing was done with it, basically.
Mr. Hice. Mr. Widener.
Mr. Widener. Congressman Hice, I--I brought that up at--
while I was still on active duty. I remained on active duty for
some year, until I was medically required--retired, due to a
constellation of illnesses, which made me unfit for military
duty. The standard response that I received from a variety of
doctors ranging from Walter Reed Medical Center to three of
four other Air Force, Army, and Navy bases was basically looks
of astonishment.
I was offered a psychiatric evaluation by my internal
medicine primary care doctor because it just--she thought that
I was one of those people that wear a tinfoil hat, you know,
because I was claiming that I had been someplace where a
nuclear weapon--a nuclear accident had occurred. That I'd been
exposed to nerve agent, to mustard agent. That I'd, you know,
had been in an area covered with rocket fuel or, you know,
depleted uranium. And mostly, for the most part, while on
active duty nobody really cared to ask anything. I offered to
show documents. I literally took a binder into many doctors,
you know, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, at Langley Air Force
Base, at Fort Story Virginia, and at Portsmouth Naval Medical
Hospital and Walter Reed Medical Center. They really did not
seem interested.
I attempted to--to place the--to take and replace the--the
post-deployment health surveys I had from my deployments, which
I have all the copies of, and the Nexus letters that were
produced by a variety of 20 Special Forces Group doctors and
surgeons, back into my records. And the Department of Defense
SG Department for all services essentially refused to allow me
to put medical evidence into my medical records.
I was fortunate though, Congressman Hice, because a good
number of my conditions occurred on active duty, so I was able
to get service--or service connection for the conditions, but I
have no service connection to Karshi-Khanabad.
Mr. Hice. Thank you.
Mr. Lynch. I am going to recognize myself for another five
minutes.
So, Mr. Widener, you have had some dialog back-and-forth
with the V.A.; is that correct?
Mr. Widener. Chairman Lynch, that's correct.
Mr. Lynch. Yes. It would seem to me that--and is--may I
ask, is there a roster that we have now of service members that
have--that served at K2?
Mr. Widener. Sir, to my knowledge, there is no overall
roster and that would be a problematic thing for the Department
of Defense to even source.
Mr. Lynch. Yes.
Mr. Widener. A large number of the initial forces that
flowed into Karshi-Khanabad were Special Operations Forces,
that were, you know, belonged to U.S. Special Operations
Command.
Mr. Lynch. Sure. Well, that stuff is in----
Mr. Widener. Well, and that--and that, and with the 10th
Mountain Division of the initial--the initial conventional
forces that rolled in, Chairman Lynch, all those people rolled
in and then departed K2 well before there was any type of Army
Personnel Support that was available at K2 to document and
track their--their comings and goings. Then you had the--the
large number of transient air crews and folks that were just
transiting in and out of the--the theater and in-and-out of
Afghanistan.
Mr. Lynch. Yes.
Mr. Widener. I have a case, Chairman Lynch, of a young
lady, just retired from the Air Force. She's out in Colorado
Springs. She deployed through K2 back and forth over for an
aggregate total of less than three weeks on the ground. She
contacted me last month. She has been diagnosed with two
different types of cancer. She has gynecological cancer that is
metastatic. She also has a primary tumor cancer of a different
etiology in her upper body, which is also metastatic. And her
doctors were faced with trying to identify which cancer to go
after first.
She's a young woman. She has kids. Her husband's in the
Army and they just don't know what they're going to do. She's
not service connected because it happened after her service.
Mr. Lynch. Yes. Let me ask, so normally in tracking the
service or the deployments of individual service members we can
look at the DD-214. It will say where they were deployed to, if
they were actually stationed there. But in her case, if she was
flying in-and-out it may not show up; is that correct?
Mr. Widener. Chairman Lynch, my understanding is that--that
the Department of Defense does capture that data in some
format.
Mr. Lynch. OK.
Mr. Widener. However, on my Duty Form 214, sir, I've been
to over a hundred countries, I've been deploying real world
from the Iran/Iraq war to--until 2006. On my Duty Form 214 I
have not one single deployment listed.
Mr. Lynch. Wow. Because I am trying to connect the dots
here, in terms of building up a roster. Either going to the
V.A. with that roster and saying, okay, we have these
individuals, who were on the ground at K2 at some point in
their deployment. At first blush, I don't even need to know who
they are, right? I want the medical records of this roster of
people. You can redact them. Don't even tell me which record
belongs to which individual, but if I could get the evidence
that, you know, there are cancers present and other illnesses
present from this group, you could sort of build a case without
needing the identities of the individuals because there are
some privacy issues there at the V.A. They won't share with
Congress or others.
But, you know, there's got to be a way to compile the
evidence here to get to a point where we prove the case and
they accede to it. You know, that would have to be the process
here. I think we need to compel them; you know.
Mr. Widener. And, Chairman Lynch, if I might, sir. I was a
Theater Operations--a Theater Special Operations Mission
Planner for a good number of years. My expertise and knowledge
of this field that probably the very best source of information
that could be available would be detailed records and personnel
status reports as part of situational reports that were made on
a daily basis to U.S. Central Command.
Mr. Lynch. Right.
Mr. Widener. All of the--all the--all of the Special
Operations Forces that flowed in and out of the theater, there
should be detailed records through PERSTATs, and daily
situation reports through U.S. Special Operations Command
Central and also, the Special Operations Command at Stuttgart,
Germany.
Mr. Lynch. Uh-huh.
Mr. Widener. SOCEUR.
Mr. Lynch. Oh, we intend to do a full-spectrum
investigation, including, you know, going into Uzbekistan. K2
is not an easy place to get to, but we can do it, of course.
And just try to use every source of information to figure out
what is the status right on the ground at K2. I understand that
that base is not being actively used, at least not that part of
the base is not being used anymore. But, you know, trying to,
you know, do a little forensic investigation with respect to
what is actually in the soil there at K2. I'm sure the Uzbek
government would not be happy about that, but I think there is
probably pressure that we can apply.
I think Mr. Green, the gentleman from Tennessee, had some
questions and I yield to him for five minutes.
Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I was going to
answer your question about those flight crews. There are flight
logs. Every aviator has to have a flight log and they operate
that and that's maintained in their flight record and, you
know, every aviator has all that. So, we can access those
people who go in and are there temporarily and fly on.
The one comment I wanted to make is, you know, oftentimes
we, in professional hazard exposures, you know, you think about
a firefighter, who is a first responder and gets a needlestick,
and we want to include that particular illness that can
potentially come from that needlestick as a job-related hazard
and make sure that it is covered under their insurance program
and things like that. Oftentimes those can be acquired many
different ways, but because of the fact that it can be acquired
in that work environment it should be reimbursed. It should be
a part of what is allowed to be treated for that individual.
You have to give the benefit of the doubt to the firefighter or
whomever.
And in this case, you know, it is our warriors. So, I
wanted to use that corresponding to further reinforce the fact
that these exposures they were--they happened, and therefore,
the diagnoses that come from them, brain cancer, colon cancer,
thyroid cancer, whatever they are and they may very well be of
other etiologies, but the fact that it is in this--that this
exposure occurred, we have to give the benefit of the doubt to
the warrior. And these presumptive diagnoses need to be
included and that is why Chairman Lynch and I have that in our
legislation. So, I just wanted to throw that analogy out there
and make sure that it is on the record.
Again, Chairman Lynch, I want to thank you for allowing
this hearing to happen and for your participation in the
legislation.
Mr. Lynch. I thank the gentleman.
The chair recognizes the Ranking Member from Georgia, Mr.
Hice, for five minutes.
Mr. Hice. Thank you. I have just got kind of a question A
and B, I guess you can say.
Were any of you or Tim denied specific tests or treatments
because K2 is not qualified or recognized? You were?
Mr. Widener. Chairman Hice, I was denied any testing of any
condition that might relate to being at K2. I am fortunate that
in my Special Operations career I was deployed into other
operational theater environments, so as a result of that I--
I've got, you know, secondary depleted--depleted uranium
exposure to the Gulf War and--and also to the Operation Iraqi
theater or Operation Iraqi Freedom theater. I was able to take
and obtain some testing for myself for other locations and
other combat theaters besides K2. But anything--anything--I
have the same experience that everybody else does.
You can't get tested for depleted uranium. There is not an
option. We are specifically prohibited from being able to
register and sign up for the Burn Pit Registry, even though we
had a burn pit that operated 24/7. We had a Soviet air chemical
factory that we don't know what it produced that was three
miles from us and we were in the smoke plume and the
particulate plume that--that came over our camp and settled
down inside the berm every single day.
We're not able to take a sign up on the Toxic Exposure
Registry because K2 had no known toxic hazards. And we're not
allowed to be evaluated for any type of radiation exposure.
Mr. Hice. So, what would have been different had K2 been
designated as a site requiring testing? Would things have been
different when you went to the V.A.?
Mr. Widener. Congressman, I think the--I think that would
absolutely be a true statement for all of our cohort. If the
hazards had been identified, then the government would have had
to stipulate that the primary conditions and also the
comorbidities that exist with, you know, the exposure to the--
the elements that were present at K2 were, you know, as, you
know, were as likely as not caused.
One thing I've heard several times on this--in this
wonderful committee meeting is that, you know, you guys are
interested in insuring that the veteran gets the benefit of the
doubt. Sir, I'm a layman, but it's my understanding that it is
Federal law with a 38-CFR Part 4 that in the cases of--of
illnesses and when the veteran can take and provide a
preponderance of--of--of scientific and medical evidence, that
the benefit of the doubt goes to that veteran. But that's not
what we experience with the V.A.
Sir, I have a Mr. Doug Wilson, who's a retired Special
Operations Maintenance person. Doug Wilson contracted an
extremely rare type of brain cancer. His cancer is so rare that
the Mayo Clinic system stated that they had only seen his
particular type of cancer twice in their history. They examined
his records and his list--his exposures that he had been
exposed to and they unequivocally, affirmatively stated from
the Mayo Clinic that his cancer was, in fact, caused by
exposures at K2.
He had had his skull sawn open. Gravely, invasive, brain
surgery twice. He's crippled. His arms and his legs, they flail
about. He has no ability to take and--and file for V.A.
benefits. The V.A. continually denies his cases. His--his wife
is a schoolteacher, an elementary school teacher in the state
of Florida and they struggle. The reason that Mr. Wilson was
unable to be present to testify in person before you is because
they're scrimping and saving every penny they have because his
wife requires a surgery, but he's uninsurable. And as a result
of that they have to just save the money up. Even though--even
though he has direct, scientific, medical evidence linking his
cancer to K2, the V.A. unequivocally, repeatedly has denied his
claims.
Mr. Hice, I'd like to let you know something that's just
heartbreaking. I spent a lot of time crying about this when I
found out about it. Mr. Wilson is, you know, crippled and he's
mostly confined to a wheelchair. His conditions are never going
to improve for the rest of his life. He doesn't have a vehicle
that's adapted for his wheelchair and in order to get to
physical therapy appointments, which he must attend three times
a week, and those are not restorative things, those are--those
are just where they have to exercise his limbs. They have to
exercise his muscles to try to maintain the status quo that at
least where he is right now.
In order to get to that, Chairman Hice, he rides a battery-
operated, mobility chair a mile-and-a-half one way on city
streets in a town with very, very few sidewalks. Has to cross
Florida highways in the blistering sun. In the brutal cold
winds that blow off of Choctawhatchee Bay, in the rain. And
once he gets there they take his body and they put it through
the paces. And quite frankly, he's in pain every time he
leaves. But he has to put himself back onto his battery-
operated chair and ride it a mile-and-a-half over every cement
crack, over every curb, and back down the streets to get home
three times a week.
And his--his battery-operated, mobility chair, which by the
way he bought with his own money because he's not entitled to
anything like that, it's broken down before leaving him
stranded on a highway trying to contact his wife or someone to
come get him off the road. Because it's not like he can get out
of it and walk away. This I believe, personally I believe, this
is criminal and should not occur.
Our Special Operations warriors and our conventional forces
who went out after 9/11 and fought to defend the cause of
freedom and further the interest of the U.S. Government, we
ought to be cared for.
Mr. Hice. Absolutely. Well, again, I wouldn't consider you
or any of you laymen on this issue. And again, I want to thank
you for bringing your story. And we will take the ball and all
of us and do what we can to get across the finish line with
this. And I thank you.
Mr. Lynch. The gentleman yields.
I would like to add that the reason that we are trying to
get a presumption created, so that the only thing a service
member would have to show is that he or her was at K2. And that
would end the inquiry on the part of the V.A. Once that was
demonstrated, no more evidence needs to be, you know, that is
the effect administratively on behalf of the V.A. It's just one
of those that is an automatic. You were at K2, service
connected. We just--we are not going to require any further
medical tests. We are going to presume that the connection was
there and that it was service related.
So, that is the success of that because we don't want
people to have to jump through all those hoops to try to prove
a case individually, one at a time. It is just not going to
work that way. That is not for the benefit of the families that
are going to need care. So, that is part of our legislative
solution there as well.
Unless--let me ask if any of you have anything additional
that you would like to add to your testimony before we conclude
here?
Mr. Widener. Chairman Lynch, I'd like to take and just
share a macabre fact. OK? And it's going to sound a little bit
odd and bizarre and it took me a lot of years to come to grip
with it. The Federal Government had manufactured, you know,
danger and warning signs for chemical weapons that were
unexploded and leaking and damaged chemical munitions, which
lay in a field literally across a small, dirt road from where
we lived and worked. And then also a large, radiation area,
which existed, which part of that higher radiation area
actually extended into the life support area of our--of our
tent city.
But, you know, everybody that went to K2--I was not one of
those people, but everybody that wen to K2 went to those signs
and they had their pictures made. And the reason all of us did
that and there are thousands of pictures of us standing next to
the yellow and the white signs, but everybody knew that at some
point we would need direct evidence to prove that we had been
there and that we'd been exposed to what we were exposed to
because people think we're crazy when we tell them what
happened.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you. OK.
Mr. Welsch. This was initially personal for me, as I stated
in my testimony, until I found the group. And then once we
began compiling everything it became not so much personal. What
really drove it home for me and--and made it gut wrenching was
when I found that the group that I deployed with was coming
down with illnesses.
For example, the commander of my group, Lieutenant Colonel
James Donahue has cancer. The operations officer of my unit has
cancer. Several--just that small group of people that I was an
augmentee--attached to, just that small group there are several
of them coming down with cancers, let alone the large picture
of--of the--the numbers that I'm keeping. And we--we beg for--
for assistance to--to get this taken care of.
Mr. Lynch. You got it.
Ms. Brooks, you all set?
Ms. Brooks. I just have something to add, that----
Mr. Lynch. Sure. Please.
Ms. Brooks [continuing]. I do wonder how many have already
died and are possibly not going to be counted. So, I think that
needs to be taken into account and then when that accounting is
taking place, you know, restorations of the families who have
lost their loved ones, you know, in connection to K2 and toxic
exposure. Thank you.
Mr. Lynch. Thank you.
I would like to thank our witnesses for their testimony
today.
Without objection, all members will have five legislative
days within which to submit additional written questions to the
witnesses, to the chair, which will be forwarded to the
witnesses for your responses.
And I simply ask if those questions are transmitted, I ask
our witnesses to please respond as promptly as you are able.
Again, I want to thank you for the powerful testimony you
provided today and for the service that you have rendered to
other families in a similar situation and also to your brothers
and sisters in uniform.
This hearing is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:49 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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