Of all the things that can get to you and under your skin; there are New Considerations for veterans who may have migrated to civillian jobs in Avaiation, particularly in Aircraft Maintenance. In my era Agent Orange was the bad guy on the block and for sure he was and still is a worthy opponet. There are other equally as bad products and compounds lurking out there such as Organophosphate Poisioning in cabin air systems and in ground operations stemming from Lubrication Oil & Hydraulic Oils that have very severe complications for the un-informed individual. I strongly suggest you read the website www.aopis.org. This information may outshine even the worse things you may have heard about. Cancers-Peripheral Neuropathy & Auto-immune disorders are all part of its background and black history. The main difference between TCDD (The bad boy in Agent Orange)and (TOCP the bad boy in Organophosphate Poisoning is Triorthocresylphosphate It played a major part in the 'Ginger Jake" poisonings of the 1930's. TOCP was and is in the Lubricating oil and Hydraulic Oil as a special additive.

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As a concerned veteran you owe it to yourself and family to stay informed and up on the issues of government responsibility when it relates directly to your past or present service conditions you have served in or are currently seeing and dealing with.

New information is constantly coming into view and the future indicates a continueing pre-disposition to deny, deny, deny, until you die! I will be dealing with a long list of medical problems that directly relates to the conditions of my service for as long as I live.

My state side bases were Amarillo AFB Texas, Plattsburgh AFB New York and some stop over TDY in Minot North Dakota. Especially Plattsburgh & Minot in wintertime forced us to operate in severe cold conditions. Remember these locations are notorious for extremes of weather with static air temps of 30-40 below zero on occasion and wind chills of 50-60 below zero. It is not hard to see the complications piled up on us because we were forced to endure the elements on the flightline. Nothing is routine under these conditions and many times major componet accessories and Engine changes were required just to get on to Plattsburgh, if this happened @ Minot on the way home. There was no relief to any great extent even when we finally got to home base because the wintertime conditions were no better there for the most part.

Now when you couple all this with the toxic chemicals in the Lubricating Oil,Hydraulic Fluid and J-p4 my body was stressed to the max but still somehow the work got done; on time I might add. The cost of all this on me and my ground crews is still happening because unfortunately much of my damage is permanent and irreversible.

As I have said previously there are too many conditions affecting this country's damaged and diseased Veterans to try and lump them all in one pile and make the fix apply to all of them,it simply won't fit! With me I know for a fact I have Cold Related Injury just because of where Iv'e been and what I was called to do, I was constantly soaked with toxic compounds in Jet Engine Lubricating Oil, Hydraulic Oil and J-P4 to the point I would literally have my shoes deterriorate & would have to duct tape the soles until I could replace them. On a B-52 and KC-135 everything you worked on was above your head and fluids would run down your arms and soak up in your pants and socks. The this contact could certainly be a contributing factor in the fact that I have Ulnar Neuropathy in both arms and peroneal neuropathy in my lower legs, feet and toes. I have no feeling in the affected areas and have significant muscle and nerve damage confirmed by EMG Testing. I am also diagnosed with Raynauds Phenomenom a cardio-vascular condition related to cold sensitivity; This has affected the circulation in my body and my feet and hands are cold to the touch even in warm weather and don't even ask about wintertime! I am dealing with a gastro-intestinal Autonomic Neuropathy condition called Acalasia which affects the muscular contractions of the esophagus when you swallow and as a result I can very easily choke if I don't eat like a bird. Autonomic Neuropathy has probably contributed to my sexual dysfunction problems also. I am taking taking two types of blood pressure medicne, dealing with an enlarged prostrate and have open angle Glaucoma. All this medicne keeps me swelled up with edema in my lower extremities. As you can see I am a messed up individual medically speaking. I have not been diagnosed as diabetic but I am forced to follow a diabetic diet plan to control the blood sugar.

This is exactly why I say there is more than meets the eye here. My particulars present a confusing synopsis of complicating factors that are obviously fighting each other. This is why we all have to get on the same page. The numbness started very quickly after I was discharged and many of the remaining conditions have developed over the next 41 years. For many years I did not equate the things that were affecting me because I was not closely associated with a military community. I appeal to you to not let this happen. Stay informed and be ready to fight once again to not be a secondary victim as I am ; you owe it to yourself and especially your family!

I just came across this article on the BLUE WATER NAVY update site that dovetails into my current articles. I spent a lot of TDY time in Guam at Anderson AFB. and there is a Tenth installment about Agent Orange on the site. As I related to you in earlier information Its like pulling teeth getting information from the Government. This updated information is dated Thursday August 9,2007. This is just one more piece of the toxic jigsaw puzzle. There is no getting around the central issue they live by Deny, Deny, Deny until you Die! This is another chance for you to update your information and take action if you like me spent any time at all on the Island of Guam. It should be apparent you don't have to have Boots On The Ground in Vietnam to be exposed! The groundwater contamination on Agent Orange alone is calculated @ over 19,000 parts per million; in fact as you will learn the entire Island is litered with numerous toxic sites. By the way the 19,000 ppm is recorded in the Anderson AFB Aquifer under the base! It is important to note as well the Navy re-supplied their potable water storage reserves onboard ships from the contaminated water supply on the Island. So what you don't know about can and will hurt you, even today you cain't be certain the problem of 40+ years ago is fixed!

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I just came across another important tidbit of information on www.vawatchdog.org. It is posted by the IOM and the subject is about presumptive Gulf War conditions and it is important information if you are a part of that operation. The report is noteworthy for what it leaves out! Because I am affected by Vietnam Era toxics it makes it all the more evident what they are trying to run past you guys today. I am severely affected by multiple Poly-neuropathies in my own right. I could not find any mention of Peripheral Neuropathy anywhere in that report and because of its content this should be in the forefront. So for all the right reasons you need to familarize yourself with what it is saying. Remember what you don't know about should be a concern to you! Don't be a secondary victim of this government created toxic mess! David

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I have found some new to me information that should be a part of your Toxic Legacy. My toxic legacy concerns Plattsburgh A.F.B. in New York. I was trying some combinations of Key word searching and used The Base Name... Contamination. I found a direct relation to all my symptoms. Agent Orange, TCE and altogether a list of toxic contaminants as long as your leg. This base on which I operated from for over two years is listed on the EPA Superfund Sites. This is why I strongly suggest you use this information to analyze your former bases no matter what service units you were stationed. My problems simply could not all be coincidence!