NGWRC is Only Funded by Donations from Supports Like You
Current News
National Gulf War 2022 Annual
Informational & Health Fair
We will talk about claimslatest treatments and research.
We are planning on doing this in Wisconsin area.
TBA
NGWRC Self-help Guide
The Self-help Guide is your resource to help you navigate the Veterans Benefits Network when you file a service-connected disability claim for Gulf War Illness or for Chronic Multi-symptom Illness of unknown causes.
We made the Guide a friendly web base one so that veterans can look up one topic no matter where they are. Do not worry we do have one last PFD down load for 2017.
This is the link for the web based Guide
VA Accreditation Search
Use a accredited person for your claims help. Look up the person helping you at this site. By law they are the only one to help you.
OGC - Accreditation Search (va.gov)
Always work with your VSO
The Veterans Benefits Network forums is a place where you will get advice from VBA claims rater and DRO officers ( the ones who denied your claim) and a few veterans. Never ask for help from a VBA personal or someone in the net unless you know them and they are on the list above.
While some might help a little, only your VSO knows all of what is in your file. We give out sound advice for you to share with your VSO.
What's New
Then NGWRC changed the phone number and address in March 2018 and there are some sites with the old address and phone number. Thues, be shure to check out the Contact link for our address.
Many veterans have now seen the announcement by the President on TV and the one on the VA's website dealing with the PROPOSED presumptive service-connected disabilities of rare cancers (listed below).
We at the NGWRC would like to remind everyone that the regulations are not even written yet and thus, we do not know how this will affect a Desert Storm veteran or any veteran. Every veteran and the large VSO's need to keep an eye on the rule make to ensure we do not get the hose like the Desert Storm veterans did on the Sinus and asthma presumptive.
This is from the VA's website:
The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to propose adding certain rare respiratory cancers to the list of presumed service-connected disabilities in relation to military environmental exposure to particulate matter.
VA determined through a focused review of scientific and medical evidence there is biologic plausibility between airborne hazards, specifically particulate matter, and carcinogenesis of the respiratory tract, and that the unique circumstances of these rare cancers warrant a presumption of service connection.
Based on these findings, VA's Secretary is proposing a rule that will add presumptive service connection for several rare respiratory cancers for certain Veterans. The cancers under consideration include:
Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea.
Adenocarcinoma of the trachea.
Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea.
Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung.
Large cell carcinoma of the lung.
Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung.
Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung.
Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung.
"This is the right decision. The rarity and severity of these illnesses, and the reality that these conditions present a situation where it may not be possible to develop additional evidence prompted us to take this critical action," said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. "We'll continue to hold ourselves accountable to Veterans to provide more care, more benefits and more services to more Veterans than ever before."
Gulf War Illness Clinical Research Treatment Trial (CoQ10 (Ubiquinol))
This study was stopped because it failed to have the number of Gulf War veteran in it.
The Miami VA's Gulf War Illness Clinical Research program is seeking Veterans deployed during the Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm to participate in ongoing Clinical Research Studies and Clinical Trials that may benefit you or someone you know.
Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Bio Repository Brain Bank
Desert Storm veterans and era veterans who enrolled in the Gulf War Veterans' brain bank will need to complete surveys about their health every six months, and upon their death, donate their brain and other body tissue for future Gulf War research.
If you think that you might be interested in this generous after-death organ donation, the following information will explain what is involved for you and your family. You may also download our informational brochure here
Who can take part in this study?
The VA GWVIB is seeking all Veterans from the 1990-1991 (Desert Shield /Storm) Gulf War era(Deployed and Non-deployed), who are interested in donating their brain and other body tissue after death for future research on the causes, progression and treatment of disorders of Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm).
Research of this type must compare persons who are healthy with those who have health problems. As a result, all Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War eras may sign up for, or take part in, this study. This includes Gulf War era Veterans with symptoms and/or illnesses as well as those who do not have symptoms and/or illnesses.
Veterans who did not deployed to the Gulf are also eligible to enroll.
The NGWRC 2017 Educational Guide
As a part of our service to veterans the NGWRC will produce a 'Educational Guide.' This guide has changes over the years. That is because the laws change and so does the research.
We removed the PTSD section as there are other place with great information to help veteran with those claims.
We made the Guide web based so that veterans can look up the topic on their smart phones. We do have the 2017 Guide as a PDF that you may download. We are not printing the guide to mail out anymore.
This is the link for the web based Guide
We will not be mailing out copies of the guide any more.
Since Operation Desert Storm, later conflicts, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, have brought many new 'invisible' injuries, especially TBI as well as a reduced frequency of new GWI cases among recent veterans deployed in and near Iraq.
What we do
Veterans Disability Benefits Claims
We have a free guide for all veterans to download it is the 2017 copy. Our newest guide is setup on a web based formmate located at www.Kansasvets.org This change will allow you to have a copy on your smart phones. We ask that you work with a good VSO and share this guide with them.
There are many veterans who did receive injuries in the line of duty that will impact their quality of life later on. These veterans are due compensation to account for their lost earning power and reduced quality of life. This is true whether the injury is visible or not. Our Self-Help Guide is a good independent, free resource anywhere for veterans with Gulf War Illness and other invisible injuries who seek help with the complex claims process of the Veterans Benefits Administration. You may also contact us for help and browse the rest of this site for answers specific to your situation.
Research and Treatment
Our Executive Director, Jim Bunker, did represents the interests of Veterans as a member of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, a congressionally mandated committee which advises the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on research which may help improve the health of veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.
Advocacy
We have a long record of promoting legislation to provide the care and benefits promised to veterans. Our current effort is a bill to allow caregivers to help veterans stay in their own homes longer, the toxic exposure bill in the 2021-2022 Congress.
Training
We provide hands on training to help veterans and their service officers navigate the veterans disability claims process as it relates Gulf War Illness types of claim that are filed under 38 CFR 3.317.
Please remember that you cannot file a claim for "gulf war illness", but you have to file for each the symptoms of a undiagnosed illness when a doctor cannot find a cause in the test. You can also combin them as a diagnosed 'CMI' as per the 38 CFR 3.317. Remember that a claim for Fibromyalgia, IBS and CFS all need to have a diagnosis before you file. Both Fibro and CFS will need to be under some type of treatemnt as per the CFR before you can be granted 10% or more.
Operation Forgotten Warrior II
We would like to thank our members in supporting us in this operation.
Forgotten Warrior II was a project to help bring understanding to the leadership of the VA that Desert Storm Veterans are still here and not getting the care or benefits they need.
The leadership of the NGWRC has been working with fellow Gulf War Veterans, VA leadership, and researchers to improve the services for Gulf War Veterans. This will help the veterans who have a Chronic Multisymptom Illness (such as undiagnosed illness ( commonly called Gulf War Illness), Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or IBS (a digestive system illness with no structural cause)) better navigate the VA health care and benefits systems as they are.
We are worked to improve the C&P exams on these issues and will keep the pressure on the VBA. We have and will keep having meeting to improve the claim for our veterans.
