02-24-2022, 11:18 PM
Lawmakers Investigate 'K2' Base Cancer Cluster of Veterans
A House committee is investigating cancer diagnoses in more than 400 veterans who served in Uzbekistan after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee plans to hold a
hearing 18 NOV to determine whether the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense are taking the health concerns
of these former service members seriously.
"The courageous Americans who served at [Karshi-Khanabad, or K2] were among the first boots on the ground
after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Today, many of them face devastating health conditions potentially tied to
their service. They are looking for answers -- answers our government has denied them for years," Subcommittee
Chairman Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said in a release 11 NOV. He added that a bipartisan committee has found
"clear evidence that K2 veterans were exposed to toxic and environmental hazards." "Yet the VA has refused to
provide the full range of treatments and benefits these veterans deserve. I remain committed to advocating on behalf
of our K2 heroes and look forward to hearing the VA and DoD's plans to right this injustice," Lynch said.
The U.S. used Karshi-Khanabad, a former Soviet and Uzbek military base, as a logistics installation to support
operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005. Service members who were stationed there have described polluted
conditions at the base, including "black gunk" that oozed up through the floorboards of their barracks and fine dust
that settled on surface areas. Hundreds of veterans who were assigned there have been diagnosed with various types
of cancer, including brain, colon and thyroid.
Kim Brooks, whose husband, Army Lt. Col. Tim Brooks, died of brain cancer at age 34 in 2004, testified before
the committee earlier this year that families deserve to know what substances their service members were exposed to
and that veterans or their survivors should qualify for VA benefits. "I am here to ask -- to plead, really -- that you do
everything in your power to ensure that other K2 veterans and families receive the medical and financial support that
they deserve," Brooks told the committee 27 FEB.
The controversy surrounding K2 contamination and suffering veterans was first reported in December 2019 by
McClatchy reporter Tara Copp. DoD documents obtained by the news organization stated that the grounds of the base,
also known as Camp Stronghold Freedom, were contaminated with missile propellant, solvents, fuel, lubricants, trace
amounts of chemical weapons and depleted uranium. The runoff ponds at the installation were bright green -- a color
so unnatural that personnel referred to them as "Skittles."
VA officials said 22 APR that the department is taking steps to address the concerns of service members and
veterans who were assigned to the base, including a study to research health trends among them. The hearing is
scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 18. Slated to testify are Patricia Hastings, VA's chief consultant for post-deployment health
services, and David Smith, deputy assistant secretary of defense for health readiness.
A House committee is investigating cancer diagnoses in more than 400 veterans who served in Uzbekistan after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee plans to hold a
hearing 18 NOV to determine whether the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense are taking the health concerns
of these former service members seriously.
"The courageous Americans who served at [Karshi-Khanabad, or K2] were among the first boots on the ground
after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Today, many of them face devastating health conditions potentially tied to
their service. They are looking for answers -- answers our government has denied them for years," Subcommittee
Chairman Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said in a release 11 NOV. He added that a bipartisan committee has found
"clear evidence that K2 veterans were exposed to toxic and environmental hazards." "Yet the VA has refused to
provide the full range of treatments and benefits these veterans deserve. I remain committed to advocating on behalf
of our K2 heroes and look forward to hearing the VA and DoD's plans to right this injustice," Lynch said.
The U.S. used Karshi-Khanabad, a former Soviet and Uzbek military base, as a logistics installation to support
operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005. Service members who were stationed there have described polluted
conditions at the base, including "black gunk" that oozed up through the floorboards of their barracks and fine dust
that settled on surface areas. Hundreds of veterans who were assigned there have been diagnosed with various types
of cancer, including brain, colon and thyroid.
Kim Brooks, whose husband, Army Lt. Col. Tim Brooks, died of brain cancer at age 34 in 2004, testified before
the committee earlier this year that families deserve to know what substances their service members were exposed to
and that veterans or their survivors should qualify for VA benefits. "I am here to ask -- to plead, really -- that you do
everything in your power to ensure that other K2 veterans and families receive the medical and financial support that
they deserve," Brooks told the committee 27 FEB.
The controversy surrounding K2 contamination and suffering veterans was first reported in December 2019 by
McClatchy reporter Tara Copp. DoD documents obtained by the news organization stated that the grounds of the base,
also known as Camp Stronghold Freedom, were contaminated with missile propellant, solvents, fuel, lubricants, trace
amounts of chemical weapons and depleted uranium. The runoff ponds at the installation were bright green -- a color
so unnatural that personnel referred to them as "Skittles."
VA officials said 22 APR that the department is taking steps to address the concerns of service members and
veterans who were assigned to the base, including a study to research health trends among them. The hearing is
scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 18. Slated to testify are Patricia Hastings, VA's chief consultant for post-deployment health
services, and David Smith, deputy assistant secretary of defense for health readiness.