The Mid-Atlantic Regional Group
Blinded Veterans Association
Legislative News
From: VA Media Relations
VA Names Members of Gulf War
Veterans Advisory Committee
Secretary Peake to Hear Their
Concerns, Issues
WASHINGTON (May 13, 2008) -- Veterans who served
in the Southwest Asia theater of operations
during 1990–1991 will have their own special advocates before Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake, thanks to a new advisory committee Peake
established to respond to issues unique to them.
The 14-member, independent
panel will advise the Secretary and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on
the full range of health care and benefits needs of those who served in the
conflict.
“Gulf War veterans made an
invaluable contribution to national security and peace in a volatile region,”
Peake said. “This new panel will ensure that VA benefits and programs adapt to
the needs of these veterans, just as our services have adapted for veterans of
other conflicts.”
Serving on the committee are
Gulf War and other veterans, veterans service organizations’ representatives,
medical experts, and the survivors of Gulf War veterans. Members were selected
to provide a variety of perspectives, experiences and expertise.
The committee will be chaired
by Charles Cragin, a retired Navy captain, who has had several senior level
positions within the federal government, including Acting Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Chairman of VA’s Board of Veterans
Appeals.
In January 2002, the Department
created an advisory committee to assist VA’s secretary on research into the
medical problems of Gulf War veterans. That older committee will retain
responsibility for research involving veterans of the 1990-1991 conflict in the
Middle East.
This committee’s first meeting
will be held in mid-June in Washington,
D.C. It is expected to complete its
work within 18 months. Committee meetings will be open to the public.
A list of the members of VA’s
Gulf War Advisory Committee is attached.
Membership
VA Advisory Committee on Gulf
War Veterans
* Charles Cragin, (Chair)
of Raymond,
Maine. Currently serves a senior
counselor for Maine Street Solutions, LLC.
* Martha Douthit of
Ashburn, Va. Surviving
spouse of Gulf War Army veteran, member of the Gold Star Wives of America,
currently an international trade analyst with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
* Dr. Henry Falk of
Atlanta. Retired rear admiral and former Assistant U.S.
Surgeon General. Currently director for the
Coordinating
Center for Environmental
Health and Injury Prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
* Mark Garner of
Lorton, Va. A retired
Marine Corps chief warrant officer-three and Gulf War veteran who served as a
Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Officer.
* Dr. Lynn Goldman of
Chevy Chase,
Md. Vice chair of the
Institute
of Medicine Gulf War and
Health Study; currently professor of environmental health sciences at
Johns
Hopkins
University.
* Dr. John Hart of
Plano, Texas. Past
president of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, currently
professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University
of Texas Southwestern
Medical
Center.
* William (Rusty) Jones of
South Riding, Va.
Retired Marine Corps colonel, and veteran of Gulf War and Vietnam War.
* Kirt Love of
Crawford, Texas. An Army
veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as director of the Desert Storm
Battle Registry.
* Daniel Ortiz of
Whittier, Calif. An Army
veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as department service director with
the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
* Daniel Pinedo of
Oceanside, Calif. Marine
Corps colonel currently serving as the comptroller for First Marine
Expeditionary Force at Camp
Pendleton,
Calif.
* Thomas Plewes of
Annandale, Va. A retired
Army lieutenant general and former chief of the Army Reserve. Currently a
senior program officer with
National
Academy
of Sciences.
* Valerie Randall of
Savage, Md. A
retired Army sergeant first class; currently with the Department of Homeland
Security.
* Edward (Randy) Reese of
Washington,
D.C. An Army veteran of the Gulf
War; currently national service director for the Disabled American Veterans.
* Steve Robertson of
Fredericksburg,
Va. A Gulf War veteran who served
both in the Air Force and Army National Guard. Currently director of the
national legislative commission for The American Legion.
Tom Zampieri
Director Government Relations
Blinded Veterans Association
Washington, DC
BVA's Legislative Alerts Group
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