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Simply click HERE provides AAT Deficiency Testing. This AAT Deficiency Testing is a COMPLETE CONFIDENCIAL TESTING SERVICE and WITHOUT COST TO YOU. Please read the detail at: AAT Deficiency Detection Center |
| by Peter Lyon Duttweiler alias (PeterD) | Veterans' Reference Links |
| Veterans' Scripts On-line Links | |
| Vet News - Burial Locater | |
| Genes in Uniform: Don't Test, Don't Tell |
Should you file a claim? Veterans' law will allow you to file a claim any time that you believe conditions are just right to have aggravated your pre-existing condition. There are many things in the military that could accelerate the condition of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. Some more notable ones are dusts, fumes, chemicals, Agent Orange, carbon fuels, vehicle exhaust, sand, silicon and tobacco smoke.
What I would like to make you aware of is that currently I have a major claim against the government that alludes to aggravation, acceleration and exacerbation of my pre-existing condition, A1AD, because of what I was exposed to while serving my active duty component in the U.S. Army (1968-1970).
If a person is diagnosed with Alpha-1 while on active duty, then Veterans Administration benefits are a lot easier to get than trying to prove that the same factors aggravated after the fact, if you will, or after serving active. That is what we are trying to prove Service connection for exposures "after" your tour of duty is up.
To date there has only been one case to go in front of the Court of Veterans Appeals (COVA) and that case is entitled Warburton v. Brown. In that case the appellant won just last year after a ten-year battle proving silicosis because of sand exposures, alpha-1 and emphysema residuals. It can be done!
The Warburton case set a precedence for my case and some of the cites will be used as evidence. Cites are important because they are like water already over the dam and have previously proved their legal relevance. In fact, we are extremely lucky to get a case of this magnitude for supporting ours.
You can read about the Warburton Case by going to the following web page: http://www.va.gov/VetApp96/files1/9600607.txt
There is a second case where I provided guidance to the ALPHAVET so he could get his benefits and that case from the Board of Veterans' Appeals can be read at the following link:
http://www.va.gov/VetApp00/files1/0004714.txt
What does this mean? This means that if you feel that you have had any similar exposures while in the service or military and it doesn't necessarily have to be Vietnam, then it just might do you justice to get down to your local service officer and file a claim. Why? You have that right and that is what it all about. There is nothing to lose now, is there?
I would suggest the following File a claim with the (DAV) Disabled American Veterans, which effectively gives them the (POA) power of attorney. This will, in the end save you many steps as my representative and myself have already completed them. We are also in a better position to guide you and inform you if the need arises. In addition, the fact that since the DAV has the power of attorney then they can share information on a parallel basis thus strengthening positions for all parties concerned.
These claims (occupational) are very hard to prove but I have the best of medical evidence, treatises, and support that one could get to date. Some of our very own National Alpha-1 doctors have written tremendous letters of support for the case. The following is a short "excerpt" of a segment of my claim to perhaps give you a better idea of where I'm coming from.
"I want to formally submit as a record of statement the following. As stated in the application I have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with an underlying predisposition called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. This has led to severe disabling emphysema that has proscribed any form of subsistence as I have known it."
"The problem I have is that some procedures undertaken while I was in the military have directly impaired my health, especially since I'm susceptible to illnesses because of latent factors. My latent factor is a genetic predisposition called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. The Journal of American Medical Association quotes, "a genetic predisposition is distinct from a genetic disease in that the gene defect alone is sufficient for the development of a genetic disease. In genetic predispositions, the gene defect confers a susceptibility or vulnerability to a hostile environment that exacerbates a disease or brings it on more quickly in an affected person." (JAMA, January 19, 1994 VOL 271, No. 3.)"
"That hostile environment was Vietnam, and the chemical agent I came in contact with is Agent Orange, the herbicide that was sprayed in Vietnam and used as a defoliant. I know that I was in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. I have documented proof through computer analysis from the U.S. Army and Joint Services Environmental Support Group. They did an analysis to see if any herbicide (Agent Orange) had been sprayed within 8 kilometers (km) and one day of the following locations Bong Son and Duc Pho during 1968."
"Their computer has the entire fixed wing, helicopter and ground spray applications contained in the Ranch Hand and Services Herbs tapes. The final breakdown was that Bong Son had four (4) hits and Duc Pho had one (1) hit during 1968. These are military areas that I have served in and are noted in my application."
"In addition to this positive proof, our unit (Engineers) would be turning dirt (laterite) over all day long when excavating or laying the base for the road. What is in the dust that I breathed? We would get our shower water directly from the nearby streams of the mentioned hit areas. What is in the water that I showered in? I at times would sample some of the local vegetables and crops. We were told that Agent Orange was relatively nontoxic to man and animals."
"To what extent did I ingest this chemical? To what extent did I breathe it? I feel very strongly that all of the above circumstances have accelerated, exacerbated and aggravated my debilitated state of respiratory health. My pre-existing sensitivity is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. I feel the Army (government) is responsible and that I have suffered more damage to my lungs than what would be typically expected from that of a person without alpha1-Antitrypsin deficiency and normal pulmonary functions. This was due to my exposures to various components including AGENT ORANGE, while on active duty in the United States Army. I'm convinced, emphatically, that repeated exposure to such irritants constituted repetitious injuries producing a cause of incapacity total and permanent. Inhalations of irritants and exposures aggravated the pre-existing condition of my lungs and brought about incapacity much earlier than such incapacities would have occurred absent the repetitious injuries of the inhalation of the previously mentioned irritants through my course of Army employment."
"I have suffered a compensable injury. A compensable injury according to the definition from the case, Sandusky vs. Workers Compensation, 487 A 2d 1019 (1985) states "injury to an employee regardless of his previous physical condition arising in the course of his employment and related thereto and such disease or infection as naturally results from the injury or is aggravated, reactivated or accelerated by the injury." Simply put, the Army was my employer and my lung/pulmonary condition has been injured through my course of employment."
Of course your circumstances may differ but we all have some similarities and that is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. What it is affected by is a matter of record, evidence, "burden of proof" and that remains our objective to prove. I feel very confident that this objective can be met.
If you do file a claim, as I said previously, the choice of an agency is up to you but I would highly suggest the Disabled American Veterans. No one is forcing you to do this but it just could be the best move you ever made. It's there, its available, why not check it out and get the facts.
If you have any questions I can be reached via snail mail at
Peter Lyon Duttweiler
3787 Bailer Road
Syracuse, New York 13215-9743 or Phone: (315) 673-2678
E-mail pdlogger@alltel.net
The DAV (Disabled American Veterans) http://www.dav.org
The Department of Veterans Affairs http://www.va.gov
If you are an ALPHAVET, the spouse of one, relative, or the like, here is
the website for the latest.
http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature
From there you can download the entire booklet or just the certain portions that you want. The file is in the *.PDF format.
To get copies of your military records on-line or to file by regular mail with the Standard Form 180, then please go to the following web page:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html
& Others of Veterans Families.
Here are the particulars.
As you probably know, the pilot program was put in place as a feasibility study for a national version. That national site went live on Veterans Day of 2003 with health information and other resources. One of the most requested features, online prescription refill, was added to the national site in September of 2005.
Good luck to you all and thanks for serving!
Vet News - - Burial Locater
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) now has an additional tool for those seeking information about the burial location of more than 5 million veterans that the VA has provided grave markers for. You can additionally read what is inscribed on the markers. In most cases the information will include birth and death dates, rank, branch of service and phone number and address of the cemetery.
All you will need is the name of the veteran to locate the gravesite. On the web, the VA Gravesite Locator can be found at:
If you do not have a personal computer, you can locate one at your area library or senior center.
Genes in Uniform: Don't Test, Don't Tell
In any workplace, genetic testing raises complex and troubling questions. But when the boss is the U.S. military and the employee wears a uniform, those dilemmas multiply. The law provides civilian workers some protections against certain uses of their genetic information, and Congress is considering comprehensive legislation on the privacy of genetic testing. But these safeguards don’t equally apply to military service members, who work in a unique environment.
What is fair for America’s men and women in uniform? How can the armed forces strike the right balance between its needs and those of enlisted personnel? A panel of experts, before an audience of journalists, policy analysts, scientists, health care professionals and military service members, wrestled with these questions at Genes in Uniform: Don't Test, Don't Tell, a Genetics Perspectives on Policy (GenePOPS) seminar held January 10 at the Johns Hopkins University campus in Washington, D.C.
Read about the policies..... Genes in Uniform: Don't Test, Don't Tell
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So what's holding you up? As they say, "the ball is in your court." (PeterD)
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