Gulf War to include OEF/OIF/OND Presumptive Conditions
Requires service in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations. If the illness did not appear during active duty then it must have existed for 6 months or more and be at least 10% disabling by 12-31-2026. Included are medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms that have existed for six months or more, such as:
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Diagnosable functional gastrointestinal disorders (such as: irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, functional vomiting, functional constipation, functional bloating, functional abdominal pain syndrome, and functional dysphagia).
- Undiagnosed illnesses
2021 – VA has initiated regulatory process of adding asthma, sinusitis, and rhinitis, to include rhinosinusitis, to the list of chronic disabilities, based on an association with exposure to fine, particulate matter during their military service. This presumption is for veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations starting in August 1990 and/or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti, and Uzbekistan during the Persian Gulf War. The presumptive condition must manifest within 10 years following service.
2022 – Under the PACT ACT 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures have been added.
Cancers
- Brain cancer
- Gastrointestinal cancer of any type
- Glioblastoma
- Head cancer of any type
- Kidney cancer
- Lymphatic cancer of any type
- Lymphoma of any type
- Melanoma
- Neck cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Reproductive cancer of any type
- Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type
Presumptive Illnesses
- Asthma that was diagnosed after service
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Chronic rhinitis
- Chronic sinusitis
- Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis
- Emphysema
- Granulomatous disease
- Pleuritis
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Sarcoidosis
Certain presumptive diseases, which will be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by service even if there is no evidence of such disease during active service. With three exceptions (see asterisks), one of the following must have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within 1 year of the date of separation from a qualifying period of active service:
- Burcellosis
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
- Malaria* (if not 10 percent or more within one year of separation, may be 10 percent or more at a time when standard or accepted treatises indicate that the incubation period commenced during qualifying period of service)
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis* (no time limit)
- Nontyphoid Salmonella
- Shigella
- Visceral leishmaniasis* (no time limit)
- West Nile Virus
Service Locations
For VA benefit purposes under 38 CFR 3.317, Gulf War service is active military duty in any of the following areas in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations. VA has determined you were exposed to burn pits or other toxins if you served:
On or after September 11, 2001, in any of these locations:
- Afghanistan
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
- The airspace above any of these locations
On or after August 2, 1990, in any of these locations:
- Bahrain
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- The airspace above these locations
Our office can assist you with applying for this benefit, or any of the benefits listed on these pages. Please call us at 910-253-2233 to schedule an appointment.
