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1
Introduction
On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded the independent nation of Kuwait. In
rapid response the United Nations passed Resolution 678, which directed that
"all necessary means" be used to get Iraq out of Kuwait. Within 5 days the
United States had begun to deploy troops to the Persian Gulf in Operation
Desert Shield. Intense air attacks against the Iraqi forces began on January 16,
1991 (Operation Desert Storm). A ground attack was launched on February 24,
and within 4 days Iraqi resistance crumbled. Almost 700,000 U.S. troops
participated in the Persian Gulf War. Following the fighting the number of U.S.
troops in the area began to decline rapidly. By June 1991 fewer than 50,000
U.S. troops remained.
The demographic characteristics of the Persian Gulf troops differed from
those involved in previous military engagements. Overall, they were older, a
large proportion (about 17%) were from National Guard and Reserve units, and
almost 7% of the total forces were women.
U.S. casualties during the Persian Gulf War were low. There were 148
combat-related deaths, with an additional 145 deaths due to disease or accidents.
Despite the low numbers of U.S. fatalities and injuries, deployed personnel were
exposed to a number of stressors. The rapid mobilization for military service
led to the sudden disruption of the lives of large numbers of people. The
involvement of large numbers of reservists and National Guard personnel
created particular concern because in addition to their rapid mobilization and
deployment, they would be returning directly to civilian life at the conclusion of
the war.
Stressors to which U.S. troops were exposed included oil smoke, diesel and
jet fuel, solvents and other petrochemicals, CARC (chemical agent resistant
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16
ADEQUACY OF THE VAPE~IANGULF=GISTRYANDUCAP
coating) paint, depleted uranium, sand, endemic infections such as
leishmaniasis, the extreme heat, and primitive living conditions. In addition,
some soldiers were given anthrax and botulinum vaccines and some soldiers
ingested Pyridostigmine Bromide pills to protect against chemical warfare
agents.
Other stressors affecting the troops were the unfamiliar character of the
region, the requirement that U.S. military personnel have virtually no interaction
with the indigenous populations, the wait for the fighting to begin, the fear that
chemical warfare agents would be used by the Iraqis, and the immense
destruction visited on the whole nation of Iraq, including exposure to dead and
mutilated Iraqis.
After the war most veterans returned home and resumed their normal
activities. Within a relatively short time, however, some active-duty military
personnel and veterans began to report various health problems that they
believed were connected to their service in the Persian Gulf. Symptoms
commonly described included fatigue, memory loss, severe headaches, muscle
and joint pain, and rashes (Iowa Persian Gulf Study Group, 1997~.
In 1992, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) developed and
implemented the Persian Gulf Registry. Its original purposes were to ease
returning veterans into the VA health care system, to create a registry containing
medical and other data on Persian Gulf veterans that would assist in addressing
questions about possible future effects of air pollutant exposure and other
environmental agents, and to serve as the basis for future medical surveillance.
Exposures, particularly those associated with the oil well fires, were included as
part of the history taking. As time passed it became apparent that a number of
exposure issues and a host of symptoms needed further investigation.
As concern escalated over the health problems of those deployed to the
Persian Gulf, the Department of Defense (DoD) also decided to develop and
implement a Persian Gulf clinical program. DoD and VA met, used experts to
develop clinical protocols, and by 1994 both had implemented similar and
parallel clinical evaluation programs. VA's in-depth clinical program is called
the Uniform Case Assessment Protocol (UCAP) whereas DoD's is called the
Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program (CCEP).
By early 1994 over 20,000 veterans had been examined as part of VA's
Persian Gulf Registry program. There were concerns, however, about whether
those veterans were being appropriately diagnosed and cared for under the VA
program. In response to those concerns, in 1994 the Congress passed P.L. 103-
446 which stated: "In each year after the implementation of the protocol, the
Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences
under which agreement appropriate experts shall review the adequacy of the
protocol and its implementation by the Department of Veterans Affairs."
In September 1996, VA charged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with
evaluating the adequacy of the UCAP and its implementation. The expert
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INTRODUCTION
17
Committee on the Evaluation of the VA Uniform Case Assessment Protocol was
convened to review the VA Persian Gulf clinical protocol and data collection,
the adequacy of its implementation of the programs, outreach efforts to veterans,
and the education of providers.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
chemical warfare
