April 1, 2004
Participants of Project SHAD Now Eligible for
VA Care!
We have outlined in these newsletter several times the problems encountered by military personnel who participated in one form or another in Project SHAD,
(Shipboard Hazard and Defense).
The purpose of Project SHAD was, in part, to determine the effectiveness of shipboard detection and protective procedures against chemical, biological and possible nuclear threats.
Chemicals and other agents were used in the project and many veterans who participated were convinced that their disabilities were caused by this exposure.
Public Law 108-170, the Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset, and Business Improvement Act of 2003, provides that "a veteran who participated in a test conducted by the Department of Defense Desert Test
Center as part of a program for chemical and biological warfare testing from 1962 through 1973 (including the program designated as `Project Shipboard Hazard and
Defense (SHAD)' and related land-based tests) is eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care under subsection (a)(2)(F) for any illness, not-
withstanding that there is insufficient medical evidence to conclude that such illness is attributable to such testing.''
At long last, these veterans have won their battle with VA.
