A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Department of Defense to review and confirm the presence of radiation and toxic substances at the Karshi Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan so the Department of Veterans Affairs can deliver benefits to K2 veterans exposed to radiation.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Senate Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Angus King (I-ME), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) noted that nearly 16,000 service members deployed to K2 from 2001 to 2005.
“These service members have since developed serious health conditions. Yet, the federal government has not provided a consistent explanation of the hazards they encountered, which denies them the answers, care, and benefits they deserve,” the senators wrote.
K2 was a military base where some of the first American service members were deployed in the Global War on Terror. Reporting has confirmed the former chemical weapons site was contaminated with uranium.
According to the lawmakers, many K2 veterans suffer from radiation-exposure illnesses and VA has not utilized authorities from the PACT Act to expand coverage for veterans exposed to radiation at K2, citing no enriched uranium was present at K2.
The senators are pushing the Defense Department to confirm uranium was found at K2 and to resolve differences in records that are leading to the “federal government’s dismissal and denial of the hazards associated with [K2 veterans’] service.”
The lawmakers point to early reviews identifying toxic substances at K2, and a study from the Army Medical Department Journal identifying a connection between K2 deployment and certain rare cancers associated with radiation exposure.
“Without an accurate accounting of the toxic substances found at K2 by the Department, VA is unable to ensure veterans who suffer from conditions related to radiation, jet fuels, asbestos, chemical agents, and other toxins receive the benefits they deserve,” they wrote.
The full text of the Senators’ letter is available here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.