***** 2002 Gulf War Statistics
New! September 2002 Gulf War Statistics document from Department of Veterans Affairs (acrobat reader required) <http://www.ngwrc.org/pdf/GWVISreportSeptember2002.pdf>
Download the VA's Gulf War Briefing document on claims filed (acrobat reader required) <http://www.ngwrc.org/pdf/master_briefing_document_3-1-01.pdf>
View VA report on Khamisiyah deaths(423 Kb -- requires Adobe Acrobat reader) <http://www.ngwrc.org/pdf/gwvisreport.pdf>
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as of March 1, 2001
- 696,661 U.S. troops served in the Gulf War between August 2, 1990 and July 31, 1991 -- these are considered "Gulf War Conflict" veterans by the VA;
- Of the 696,628, 504,047 are separated from service and eligible for benefits through the VA;
- As of December 1999, more than 263,000 sought medical care at the VA;
- Of the 504,047 eligible veterans, 185,780 (36%) filed claims against the VA for service-related medical disabilities;
- Of the 171,878 VA claims actually processed, 149,094 (80%) were approved in part (note -- most claims are made up of multiple issues, if any one issue is granted, VA considers it approved);
- Of the 504,047 eligible for VA benefits, 149,094 (29%) are now considered disabled by the VA eleven since the start of the Gulf War; and
- Another 13,902 claims against the VA still pending.
- More than 9,600 Gulf War veterans have died.
- Conflict veterans are 51% more likely to have their claims denied than "theater" veterans (those who served in the Gulf since August 1, 1991)
- Veterans who served at Khamisiyah and Al Jubayl are 37% more likely to have one or more service connected conditions than era veterans. Conflict veterans are 8% more likely than era veterans to have one or more service connected conditions. Theater veterans - those who served in the region since August 1, 1991 - are 16% less likely than era veterans to have service connected conditions.
[A chart on "Veterans with Service Connected Conditions" omitted.]
According to the Department of Defense, by 1999, the military revealed
- As many as 100,000 U.S. troops were exposed to repeated low-levels of chemical warfare agents, including sarin, cyclosarin, and mustard gases;
- More than 250,000 received the investigational new drug pyridostigmine bromide (PB pills) the Pentagon "cannot rule out" as linked to Gulf War illnesses;
- 8,000 received the investigational new botulinum toxoid (Bot Tox) vaccine;
- 150,000 received the hotly debated anthrax vaccine;
- 436,000 entered into or lived for months within areas contaminated by more than 315 tons of depleted uranium radioactive toxic waste possibly laced with trace amounts of highly radioactive Plutonium and Neptunium, almost all without any awareness, training, protective equipment, or medical evaluations; and
- Hundreds of thousands lived outdoors for months near more than 700 burning oil well fires belching fumes and particulate matter without any protective equipment.
- Each of these exposures took place while troops were either engaged in combat, serving in a war zone, or stationed in the volatile region for a number of months.
Other Important Statistics
- More than 1,200,000 civilians in Iraq have died since the start of the Gulf War, when Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 (Source: United Nations and Iraq).
- An estimated 100,000 Iraqi soldiers died during Operation Desert Storm between January 17, 1991 and February 28, 1991 (Source: News Reports).
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