When the military kills you how do you know?

When the military kills you how do you know?
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
March 3, 2013

When Irish died in Washington DC, a shockwave went out across the country but unless you were paying attention to what was going on and what this woman was doing to try to fix the way female veterans, as well as males, were treated, then you wouldn't have known. This is a copy of the testimony she gave.
September 14, 2006 Before the VA Disability Commission in Washington, DC It wasn't the first time she went to Washington and it wouldn't be here last. That came in 2008.
This is just part of what she said in 2006

I wish to address the VA's hierarchy’s constant, immoral and intentional denial of service connected compensation and entitlements to veterans exposed to these chemical agents and total disregard to the regulations pertaining to this exposure. And to their widows/widowers and most of all the innocent, who bear our service, the children and grandchildren who die from Agent Orange or those who lived and bear the scars of their parents or grandparents service. The Agent Orange babies. I am one of those Agent Orange ( Dioxin) victims, service connected, who have been denied entitlements, medical care and compensation. Diagnosed at Walter Reed Medical Hospital, on active duty, source of exposure identified as Fort McClellan, Alabama. Fort Ritchie, Maryland and Fort Drum, NY have also been identified as Agent Orange sites and I have served on these Installations also. I have had this poison of multiple chemical exposure, including Agent Orange, in my body since I was 20 years old and I will be 56 years old next month.

Capt. Agnes "Irish" Bresnahan.

Jun 16, 2009 My sister was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with Full Military Honors yesterday Monday 15,2009. I would like to thank you for your support for my family and ask that you pray for all the vets and active duty servicemen especially my nephew, Matt Gatley who was deployed the day before the funeral of his aunt. I would like to personally thank Chris Abel of Rainbow whose actions allowed me to attend my sisters funeral. All the best to you and yours, sincerely , Jim Bresnahan

Most people were shocked when they heard about Camp Lejeune and the contamination. Unfortunately friends of mine are very upset because they didn't know some of the bases they were on were also contaminated.

How could they know? It isn't as if the mainstream media has had time to report on any of this. After all, they have too many other news stories to cover like a murder trial of a sports star in South Africa along with every other topic that should only get about a couple of seconds worth of coverage, if that much. But we have our 24-7 news shows now? People were a lot more informed when they had less because the news stations we had way back did more with the time they did have.

There is a conversation going on about Fort McClellan and a friend of mine that served there. She didn't know it was contaminated. Now she's shocked no one told her or how she could have ended up with the health problems she has had for years. It turns out she served on two bases that have been found to be contaminated.

This site has been up for a long time, so it isn't as if it was a huge secret as long as people were searching for it.
Blue Water Navy Veterans
The problem is, most people rely on the media to tell them and assume if it is an important story, they will stay with it. Ha, ha, ha. As if that has happened in a long time. Anyway, while I'm sure we're going to get every detail about the trial in South Africa and be treated to endless hours of England's Queen in the hospital, our veterans will be shoved aside.

The following 59 U.S. military bases were suffering from significant water or soil contamination a year ago, according to the Department of Defense's interpretation of its latest hazardous waste survey. DoD officials say not every base suffering such contamination is on the list, because information was not available for all bases. The list is based on the latest status report for DoD's Installation Restoration Program.

Here's the list of bases. Go to the link to read about them.

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Fort A.P. Hill, VA
Fort Belvoir, VA
Fort Devens, MA
Fort Dix, NJ
Fort Lewis, WA
Fort McClellan, AL
Redstone Arsenal, AL

Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Center, NJ
Moffett Field NAS, CA
Whidbey Island NAS, WA
China Lake, CA
Indian Head NOS, MD
Jacksonville NAS, FL
Miramar NAS, CA
Pabmont River NAS, MD
Roosevelt Roads NS, Puerto Rico

Castle AFB, CA
Dover AFB, DE
Griffiss AFB, NY
Hill AFB, UT
Mather AFB, CA
McChord AFB, WA
McClellan AFB, CA
Norton AFB, CA
Robins AFB, GA
Tinker AFB, OK
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

I miss my friend very much. I think she'd be very ashamed knowing after all of her years of dedication fighting for justice, not just for herself, but for all veterans, has resulted in veterans still not knowing that while the enemy didn't kill them, the military may have.