After more than 40 years, John Olsen can still remember those stormy nights when the Army tugboat that kept him afloat in the Pacific Ocean was blasted by high winds carrying both sea spray and weapons-grade chemicals.
“You need good winds to test things,” he explained in a phone conversation with the Missoulian last week. “We had to be where the winds were.”
They don't know for sure because the U.S. Department of Defense refuses to provide them or their physicians with any information about the chemicals and biological agents they were exposed to. In fact, it refuses even to provide them with health benefits.
Given the circumstances and the seriousness of these veterans' medical issues, it's difficult to imagine why the Defense Department is being so uncooperative. It took years of constant prodding from these veterans before the Department finally admitted, in 2001, that the testing even took place.
In the years since, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg and California Rep. Mike Thompson have repeatedly called on Defense brass to open up so Olsen and other veterans can qualify for health benefits. Those officials continue to ignore their demands, saying they must keep the decades-old information classified in order to protect the citizens of this country. It appears to us, however, they are more interested in shielding themselves from accountability.
After all, the SHAD tests were performed more than 40 years ago. We certainly understand much more about these chemicals and agents now than we did then. Also, the United States pledged not to use chemical or biological weapons when it ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1975, and has since banned the further development of chemical weapons. Current testing and development programs are officially dedicated solely for chemical and biological weapons defense.
If the information gained from the SHAD tests is indeed sensitive enough to compromise the safety of the entire nation - and justify the continued risk to the health and well-being of these veterans - the Defense Department has done nothing to convince us that this is in fact the case.
However, a report from the Government Accountability Office is expected to become available in February. Olsen is not alone in hoping it will contain information that will help his cause.
At the very least, the Defense Department should make an attempt to locate the veterans who were involved in the testing and inform them of the possible risks to their health. Their doctors must be informed of the chemicals and biological agents they were exposed to so they can better understand how to treat their ailments as they crop up. And they should get this information without further delay.
Fortunately, Olsen and his fellow veterans may begin to receive some health benefits soon, thanks to language Rehberg and Thompson have added to a veterans health bill that recently passed through the House. It currently awaits approval from the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee - of which Montana Sen. Jon Tester is a member.
We hope the committee will approve this measure quickly so the veterans who so generously risked their own safety for their country can get the high-priority health care they deserve. It's the least we can do.
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