Ray Rivera, reporting for the Seattle Times on Ailing Gulf vets fear troops today at risk:
Like so many veterans of the 1991 war, Mock left the Gulf seemingly healthy. The rashes that soon appeared she attributed to the sand and harsh environment. Then her hair fell out in clumps. She was energetic one second, exhausted the next. Her hip joints would become so inflamed she couldn't walk without medication. Doctors, unable to pinpoint a cause, said they resembled a mix of the autoimmune diseases lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
The former Army dental hygienist heard reports of other veterans falling sick with similar symptoms. Many were told they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Of course the warbloggers and pro-war crowd don't have shit to say on this topic. It's uncomfortable and disquieting to talk about sick vets and much easier to beat the drums of war. Since 1991, tens of thousands of vets have fallen sick or passed away due to prolonged illnesses. Many more veterans will come home sick after the next war, suffering from the same mysterious illnesses. Yet the pro-war crowd will do what their predecessors in 1991 did following the conclusion of hostilities – turn a blind-eye and go back to their lattes and football games.
It ain't all in their heads folks. It's easy to sit in a comfortable chair advocating sending other people to their deaths or worse – condemning them to a life of denial, sickness and ridicule at the hands of the very people who sent them to war in the first place.