Question:

I served in the Army during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was not injured or anything but I do have a number of health issues including gastro issues and headaches. I have been to a number of different specialists and so far none of my doctors can diagnose my condition or attribute it to any known cause. My father was in the Marines (he was not smart enough to join the Army) in Vietnam and he always tells me about how he gets VA benefits for his presumptive exposure to Agent Orange. Are there any similar programs for Gulf War veterans?

Answer:

A veteran who served in Southwest Asia can be service connected for “undiagnosed illness” without direct evidence of a nexus between his or her service and the illness. For the purposes of this section, Southwest Asia includes Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the airspace above. VA also considers service in Afghanistan to be included.

A veteran having service in any of these areas since August 2, 1990, is considered eligible for presumptive service connection for one or more of the following “manifestations:”

  • An undiagnosed illness;
  • A medically unexplained chronic multisymptom condition (such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or irritable bowel syndrome; or
  • One of a list of infectious diseases determined by the VA, which includes leishmaniasis.

Finally, for an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained illness the condition must have manifested itself during service or to a “degree of 10 percent or more during the presumptive period, which is continuing since August 1990. For infectious diseases the presumptive period varies by disease from one year to no time limit.

For “undiagnosed” and “multisymptom” diseases that do not have their own rating tables, the issue of which condition is “similar” to the claimant’s condition can mean the difference between an award and denial. VA is required to explain why they used a particular table and must take into account the claimant’s specific symptoms. Using the wrong rating table can unfairly prevent a 10% rating.

Another common problem is private physicians trying to diagnose something to assist the veteran. A diagnoses, even if only an attempt to narrow the possible causes, does not satisfy the “undiagnosed” condition requirement, as VA as pointed out in many denials. Claimants should discuss the difference between a best guess diagnoses and a diagnoses to a medical certainty if a Gulf War claim is being considered.

Veterans of the Persian Gulf with a health concern are eligible for an examination, whether or not he or she has a current condition. Persons undergoing the examination are added to the VA Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry. This registry allows VA to track Persian Gulf Veterans health conditions and, hopefully, detect conditions related to service in that theater that should be added to the presumptive list.

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