Report identifies ‘Gulf War Illness'

Gulf War veterans have been complaining of serious medical conditions for years, and doctors often dismissed their symptoms as either psychological or unrelated to their service. Now the verdict is in: there really is a "Gulf War Illness."

It's been nearly 18 years since the Gulf War, and thousands of veterans have been suffering from symptoms for just as long. Now those vets can actually come to hospitals to get treatment for a legitimate illness recognized by the government.

A federal report, compiled by a panel of scientists and veterans, states that at least one-fourth of the nearly 700,000 Gulf War veterans has this illness. The symptoms include persistent memory and concentration problems, headaches, widespread pain and gastrointestinal problems, among others.

"It always comes back to square one. It always comes back to: ‘I feel horrible and is this going to be the rest of my life?' Which you hope it isn't," said Sgt. Andrew Figorski, an Iraq War veteran.

Figorski didn't serve in the Gulf War, but his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan have left him with similar symptoms. "Gastrointestinal; a lot of guys have weak joints, constant headaches, dizzy spells, constant ringing in your ears. It's so common," he said.

The report indicates that two neurotoxic exposures are associated with the illness: The use of pills given to protect troops from nerve agents and pesticides used during deployment.

"We did have nerve agents or type of agents delivered onto us, either by air, because they did hit everything," Master Sgt. John Dortzbach said.

Dortzbach is a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran. He witnessed troops exposed to pesticides and other nerve agents. Now he's grateful the government finally recognized the illness.

"It's better than what they did for Vietnam. It took them 30 years to realize that Agent Orange was a problem," Dortzbach said.

It might not have taken 30 years, but affected veterans say it took long enough.

The report also calls on Congress to boost funding for research on Gulf War veterans' health to at least $60 million per year.

E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com

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