If it’s controversial…..classify it!

Military mum on dirty air in Iraq

Health concerns » An environmental report on the burn pit at Balad Air Base now is classified for ‘national security’

Matthew D. Laplante
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/21/2008 09:01:12 AM MST

Military officials insist there’s no problem.

But veterans’ advocates are calling for full transparency about the health risks faced by service members who have been stationed at the largest U.S. air base in Iraq, where one inspector called an open-air burn pit “the worst environmental site I have ever personally visited.”

But for the moment, that quote — found in a memo from a military environmental engineer from Utah — is all that is publicly known from a 2006 Environmental Health Site Assessment on the situation at Balad Air Base. That’s because the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine is refusing to make the document public, saying that the information it contains “would damage our national security.”

How could a health assessment damage national security? For veteran Paul Rieckhoff, the situation smells as bad as Iraq’s foul air.

“It’s troubling,” said Rieckhoff, an Iraq combat veteran and director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which lobbies on behalf of vets who have served in the nation’s ongoing conflicts. “Just saying ‘everything is fine’ is not going to fly.”

The Army insists that it is doing more. Michael Kilpatrick, a spokesman for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, said the military has done extensive sampling of the air in Balad and other bases where burn pits are used to get rid of garbage — including weapons, chemicals, plastics, and even amputated limbs. (Read more HERE)

Unbelievable!! This is the DoD’s answer to the problem? Just classify it and it goes away? Alrighty then…how stupid do they think we are?

Time to call your Senators and Congresspersons. Maybe the new administration can fix this.

Ms Sparky

Iraq-U.S. Accord Wipes Out Contractor Immunity (Update1)

By Gopal Ratnam and Viola Gienger

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. government contractors in Iraq are balking at a new agreement that eliminates their immunity from local laws, saying thousands of Americans would be subject to a legal system that still fails international standards.

“This agreement throws the DoD contractors under the bus,” said Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association, a trade group that represents 57 firms that provide services including security, development and military support. Pretrial detention and incarceration in Iraq are “way below” global standards, he said.

The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status- of-forces accord that eliminates contractors’ immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. While the agreement applies to U.S. military operations, the State Department told its contractors today that Iraq will make them subject to the same rules.

The provision is part of an agreement that would govern U.S. military operations in Iraq after a United Nations Security Council resolution expires on Dec. 31. About 28,000 of the 163,500 people employed as Pentagon contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens. Others are Iraqis or citizens of other countries, according to Defense Department data. About 4,500 of the State Department’s 5,500 contractors in Iraq are U.S. citizens. (Read more HERE)

That’s just damn scary!!! I just can’t imagine being in an Iraqi jail! Oh hell no!

Ms Sparky

Army report shows chemicals at burn pit site

A soldier concerned about his tour at Forward Operating Base Hammer near Balad, Iraq, this year sent Military Times a report showing high levels of particulate matter and low levels of manganese, possibly due to materials destroyed in a burn pit.

“The high risk estimate is due to the average (particulate matter) level being at a concentration the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers ‘hazardous,’ and is likely to affect the health of all troops,” wrote Jeffrey Kirkpatrick, director of health risk assessment for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. “Manganese was also detected above its one-year military exposure guidelines.”

It was sent to the command surgeon general’s office for U.S. Central Command.

Particulate matter can lead to coughing, difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease, according to the EPA.

Long-term levels of high exposure to manganese can lead to problems in the central nervous system, such as slow visual reaction time, inability to keep the hands steady, and poor eye-hand coordination. It can also lead to feelings of weakness, tremors, a mask-like face and psychological effects. It can also lead to impotence and loss of libido, according to the EPA. (Read more HERE)

Burn pit fallout

Disabled American Veterans has issued a call to all service members and veterans who think they may have illnesses related to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq: Contact DAV so they can collect data and look for trends.

“Anyone out there who thinks they may have had a long-term health effect … needs to file a complaint” with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Kerry Baker, DAV’s associate national legislative director.

Noting that it took Vietnam veterans 20 years to gain benefits for exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange, Baker said, “We don’t want to see these guys have to wait 20 years. We want to see Congress act right away.”

He said service members should be alert for respiratory-related problems, such as allergies, sleep apnea, trouble breathing, asthma and lymphocytic leukemia, as well as skin diseases. Of the 300 to 400 disability cases Baker said he has personally reviewed since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, he said 30 percent potentially could be linked to the burn pits. He said he’s amazed by the numbers of troops reporting sleep apnea.(Read more HERE)

Senator wants answers on dangers of burn pits

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has written to Gen. David Petraeus, the new chief of U.S. Central Command, demanding to be informed about any pending investigations into health problems for troops exposed to burn pit smoke in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“After years of helping veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf wars cope with the health effects of toxic battlefields, we have learned that we must take exposures to toxins seriously to ensure that this generation of service members does not face the same difficulties,” Feingold wrote in a letter dated Oct. 31.

“While I appreciate the nearly overwhelming set of challenges we face in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no excuse for exposing service members and local civilians to preventable hazards.” (Read more HERE)

Military Times Letters from soldiers about Burn Pits

Cheney, Gonzales indictment in Texas moves ahead
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has set a Friday arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a state senator and others named in indictments accusing them of responsibility for prisoner abuse in a South Texas federal detention center.

Presiding Judge Manuel Banales said Wednesday he will allow them to waive arraignment or have their attorneys present rather than appear in person at the hearing.

Banales also said he would issue summonses rather than warrants for the indicted since all have served in some public capacity. That would allow them to avoid arrest and the need to post bond.

After the prosecutor who won the indictments, lame duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, was a no-show in court, Banales ordered Texas Rangers to go to his house, check on his well-being and order him to court on Friday. (Click HERE to read more)

Ms Sparky

This is a quick message for KBR/SEII employees that are being interviewed by Criminal Investigations (CID) in Iraq. I understand that once CID has requested to talk to a KBR employee about an ongoing investigation, Ron Allen attaches himself and accompanies them to the interview.  Ron Allen or any other KBR Corporate attorney IS NOT your attorney. They are 100% KBR Corporate. If they are telling you anything different they are lying.

If KBR is threatening to fire you for talking, coaching you or in any other way impeding any ongoing investigation contact the CID investigator or email me and I will get you in touch with someone that can help.

Do not lie. Tell the truth. And OMG do not think for one minute that KBR will in any way protect you. KBR will throw you under the bus at the drop of a hat.

Do the right thing. Talk….tell the truth.

Ms Sparky

The American Red Cross is again sponsoring the Holiday Mail For Heroes campaign.

For the second year in a row, The American Red Cross is collecting holiday cards to distribute to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world.

Click HERE and follow the instructions carefully. Do it now.

There is a December 10th deadline!!

Take the time to show your appreciation for everything they do.

What a great project to do as a family. My grandson and I are doing ours tonight.

Ms Sparky