DoD Knew K2 Troops Were Exposed to Cancer-Causing Toxins; VA Continues to Deny Care

Miliitary.com

Stars and Stripes | By Steve Beynon

WASHINGTON — Recently declassified Defense Department documents show the Pentagon knew troops were exposed to multiple toxins and hazards that have led to hundreds of cancer cases and dozens of dead veterans after deploying to Uzbekistan in the early days of the War on Terror. The Department of Veterans Affairs is denying most of them care and disability.  

Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, is a former Soviet air base in southeastern Uzbekistan that shares a border with northern Afghanistan. After the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. established Camp Stronghold Freedom at K2, which was used to support combat missions from 2001 to 2005. Veterans described a toxic environment at the post, where pond water glowed green, black sludge oozed from the ground and the government posted massive white and yellow signs warning troops to keep out of certain areas due to chemical agents.

On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on National Security released previously classified documents provided by the military in 2001, 2002 and 2004 that reveal a mountain of evidence that service members were exposed to voluminous health risks including cancer-risking toxins. 

Most notably, the former Soviet base had contained chemical weapons, enriched uranium and soil saturated with fuels and other solvents that formed a “black goo.”

The documents were declassified in February, but Defense officials waited until July to alert Congress, according to a release from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Former service members who spent time at K2 testified before on Capitol Hill in February that they were aware of at least 400 individuals diagnosed with cancers who served at the base. They said at least 30 have died.

During a health assessment test in 2001, military analysts found the base had “elevated levels of volatile organic compounds and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were detected at numerous locations throughout Stronghold Freedom, including tent city, eastern expansion area and adjacent to the aircraft maintenance facility.” It also found that ambient air is the “main concern for environmental contaminants.” 

A 2002 assessment recommended not to dig “into soil contaminated with jet fuel,” but those areas were populated with tents soldiers slept in and aircraft hangars, according to the declassified document. In the same year, another DOD health risk assessment found “between 50% and 75% of personnel at Stronghold Freedom” would be exposed to elevated levels.”

“The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to deny these illnesses are related and continue to deny benefits,” Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said in a call with reporters Thursday. VA did agree to a study on K2 veterans, according to Lynch. “It should not have been this hard to convince VA to make this commitment. … K2 veterans have time-sensitive needs that need to be addressed now.”