VA still denies Vietnam Blue Water Navy Pt 1

LITTLETON, Colo. - Sept. 12, 2015 - PRLog -- In response to an inquiry  to Mr. Robert McDonald, Sectretary of the Veterans Administration, regarding the Vietnam Blue Water Navy presumptive status, the following letter was recieved from Mr. Thomas Murphy. It states VA's position on this subject. It is evident that the VA is adamant in it's position and will not change until the old regime is replaced. A copy of this correspondence was sent to Mr. McDonald who has not responded with any statements.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Veterans Benefits Administration
Washington, D.C. 20420
JAN 0 I t0t5

Raymond G. Melninkaitis
111 Highland Avenue
Beacon Hills, CT 06403

Dear Mr. Melninkaitis :

I am responding on behalf of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to your request to extend the presumption of Agent Orange exposure to all Veterans who served aboard US Navy ships conducting missions on the offshore waters of Vietnam. We honor the service of these "BIue Water" Veterans, but the facts of Agent Orange use in Vietnam do not support such an extension of exposure.

Aerial spraying of Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides in Vietnam was used to destroy enemy food crops; reveal enemy positions by defoliating jungle and riverbank cover; and create vegetation-free security zones around military bases. No such use of Agent Orange occurred over the offshore waters of Vietnam that would have exposed Blue Water Navy Veterans in the same manner as Veterans who served on the ground or on the inland waterways. This fact-based rationale for excluding Blue Water Navy Veterans from the presumption of exposure has been upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

VA's concern for the equitable treatment of all Vietnam Veterans led to tasking the NationalAcademy of Sciences' lnstitute of Medicine (lOM) with determining whether there were any alternative potential routes of tactical herbicide exposure for Blue Water Navy Veterans, such as through aerial spray drift over coastal waters or sea water contamination from inland water runoff. The IOM determined in"its report, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure (2011), that there was insufficient evidence to confirm that these potential routes resulted in significant exposure.

VA is aware that some Blue Water Navy Veterans do qualify for the presumption of exposure based on current policies. To assist those Veterans who may be eligible, VA has developed a list of Blue Water Navy ships that operated temporarily on Vietnam's inland watenruays for missions such as providing gunfire support for ground operations or delivering supplies. lf deck logs or other official documents show such inland watenruay operations, all Veterans serving aboard ship at that time will receive the presumption of exposure. lf official documents show that a ship docked or that a ship in close coastal waters sent crewmembers ashore, the presumption of exposure will be extended to any Veteran aboard that ship who provides a statement of personally going ashore.

VA policies on presuming Agent Orange exposure are an equitable attempt to include as many Veterans as possible under existing laws and the facts of tactical herbicide use in Vietnam. I hope this information is helpful and will assist you with understanding why we do not have sufficient evidence to extend the presumption of exposure to all Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans.

Sincerely,

Thomas J lMurphy -
Director Compensation Service

See pt 2 for the rebuttal