BENNINGTON, Neb. (KMTV) — In 2014, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs launched an initiative called the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. The repository intended to respond to veterans who were experiencing respiratory issues that could be connected to burn pits. According to the V.A., veterans who deployed after 1990 can sign up for the registry.
The Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, commonly known as the PACT Act, was signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10, 2022. The intent of that legislation is to improve healthcare and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.
U.S. Army veterans affiliated with the American Legion post in Bennington, Glenn Turner and Jared Weinman, were exposed to burn pits when they deployed to the Middle East.
Turner recently finished a 42-year career in the Army on active duty and in the reserves. He was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
"It's a smell that you don't want to smell every day," Turner recalls as he described the burn pits he was exposed to. "We had the wind — would blow right toward us from the big landfill that they were using to dispose of medical waste and human waste."
Turner says almost everything was put into the pits and you could tell or even hear what was tossed inside.
"Ammunition would go off every once in a while — that got into the trash. So, I do know that the guy at the landfill could tell the difference between 16 round and 50 cal," said Turner.
According to the V.A., the legislation is perhaps the most extensive health care and benefits expansion in V.A. history.
The PACT Act will also cover veterans who were exposed to agent orange, which is something that personally affected Weinman.
"My mom went to basic training at Fort McClellan," said Weinman. "She tried to make a claim with that stuff and they wouldn't listen to her."
Both veterans are happy that the government will better care for the men and women who gave everything for our country.
"One lost life is too many, you know, due to complications from serving our country and protecting our freedoms. It should not have taken this long," said Weinman.
To determine eligibility for the registry and PACT Act benefits, veterans must have served in a contingency operation in the Southwest Asia theater of operations after Aug. 2, 1990, or after Sept. 11, 2001, if they served in Djibouti or Afghanistan.
Additional nations include Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, U.A.E., or the waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea.
To sign up for the burn pit registry, click here.
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