JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
New VA Regulation to Aid Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange in Korea
Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving along the demilitarized zone in Korea will have an easier path to access quality health care and benefits under a Department of Veterans Affairs final regulation that will expand the dates when illnesses caused by herbicide exposure can be presumed to be related to Agent Orange.
"The VA's primary mission is to be an advocate for Veterans," said Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. "With this new regulation VA has cleared a path for more veterans who served in the demilitarized zone in Korea to receive access to our quality health care and disability benefits for exposure to Agent Orange." Under the final regulation published in the Federal Register, the VA will presume herbicide exposure for any Veteran who served between April 1, 1968, and Aug. 31, 1971, in a unit determined by the VA and the Department of Defense to have operated in an area in or near the Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied.
Previously, the VA recognized that Agent Orange exposure could only be conceded to veterans who served in certain units along the Korean DMZ between April 1968 and July 1969. In practical terms, eligible Veterans who have specific illnesses the VA resumes to be associated with herbicide exposure do not have to prove an association between their illness and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits and ensures that Veterans receive the benefits they deserve.
Check out these links to learn about Veterans diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure:
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/birth_defects.asp
The VA encourages veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical conditions that may be related to Agent Orange to submit their applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as possible so the agency can begin processing their claims.
Individuals can go to website http://
www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm to get a more complete understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence is needed by VA to make a decision about disability compensation or survivor's benefits.
Retirees to See Higher Federal Tax Withholding
On Dec. 31, 2010, the "Making Work Pay" tax credit expired. This means that retirees (military or civil service or private) are likely to see an increase in the amount of federal tax being withheld from their monthly annuities. Extracted from The Retired Enlisted Association web site,
www.trea.org.
The Retiree Activities Office is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. You may visit our office in room A-200A, 1535 Command Dr., call us at 301-981-2726, your voice mail message will be answered, or you can e-mail us at rao@andrews.af.mil.
We recommend you call the office prior to visiting us to ensure someone is on duty. We have a Web site at http://www.andrews.af.mil click on ''Retirees" on the right side of the page. There you will find a wealth of information that is of interest to you.
Back copies of all "Retiree Activities Corner" articles are available on-line. Go to our Retirees webpage and follow the instructions under the heading "Newspaper Column."