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Eligibility

IMPORTANT NOTE:

  • The term Gulf Veterans refers to those who served in the region, NOT only those who served during the first Gulf War of 1990!

Served in any of the following locations from August 2, 1990 to present day:

  • Afghanistan (airspace NOT included);

  • The Arabian Sea;

  • Bahrain;

  • Egypt (airspace NOT included);

  • Gulf of Aden;

  • Gulf of Oman;

  • Iraq;

  • Israel (airspace NOT included);

  • Jordan (airspace NOT included);

  • Kuwait;

  • Oman;

  • The Persian Gulf;

  • Qatar;

  • The Red Sea;

  • Saudi Arabia;

  • Syria (airspace NOT included);

  • Turkey (airspace NOT included);

  • The neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia; and

  • The United Arab Emirates.

Diseases (Any Time After Separation)

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • There is NO longer a time limit in which the following conditions must present themselves! HOWEVER, the condition must cause the Veteran to be ill for at least 6 months (to establish the condition is chronic in nature).

  • Conditions NO longer need to rate 10% to get presumptive service-connection.

  • Do NOT file for "Gulf War Syndrome"! That is a vague label of common symptoms. Please, file for your specific conditions/symptoms.

Medically Unexplained Chronic Multi-symptom Illness (MUCMI):

Category Example Disease
Chronic fatigue syndrome -
Fibromyalgia -
Functional gastrointestinal disorders* Functional abdominal pain syndrome
'' Functional bloating
'' Functional constipation
'' Functional indigestion
'' Functional difficulty swallowing
'' Functional vomiting
'' Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Does NOT include structural gastrointestinal diseases such as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

Signs or symptoms of undiagnosed illness and Medically Unexplained Chronic Multisymptom Illnesses (MUCMI), include but are not limited to:

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Failure to do proper medical diagnostic testing BEFORE an Examination does NOT make a condition undiagnosable!

  • The above conditions/symptoms are presumptive ONLY IF the medical examiner provides a medical opinion that your condition is:

  1. An undiagnosable illness; OR

  2. A diagnosable but medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness of UNKNOWN etiology.

Diseases (Within One Year of Separation)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

  • Afghanistan only counts for the following presumptives for service than began on or after August 2, 1990.

The following conditions must manifest within a year of separation.

Common Secondaries

NOTE:

  • Secondary service-connection is NOT presumptive.

Disease Common Secondary
Brucellosis Arthritis;
" Cardiovascular, Nervous, and Respiratory system infections;
" Chronic meningitis and Meningoencephalitis;
" Deafness;
" Demyelinating meningovascular syndromes;
" Episcleritis;
" Fatigue, Inattention, amnesia, and depression;
" Guillain-Barré syndrome;
" Hepatic abnormalities, including Granulomatous hepatitis;
" Multifocal choroiditis;
" Myelitis-radiculoneuritis;
" Nummular keratitis;
" Papilledema;
" Optic neuritis;
" Orchioepididymitis and Infections of the genitourinary system;
" Sensorineural hearing loss;
" Spondylitis;
" Uveitis;
Campylobacter jejuni Guillain-Barré syndrome (if within 2 months of infection);
" Reactive Arthritis (if within 3 months of infection);
" Uveitis (if within 1 month of infection).
Coxiella burnetii (Q fever) Chronic hepatitis;
" Endocarditis;
" Osteomyelitis;
" Post-Q-fever chronic fatigue syndrome;
" Vascular infection.
Malaria Demyelinating polyneuropathy;
" Guillain-Barré syndrome;
" Hematologic manifestations (such as Anemia and Splenic rupture);
" Immune-complex glomerulonephritis;
" Neurologic disease;
" Neuropsychiatric disease;
" Ophthalmologic manifestations, particularly Retinal hemorrhage and scarring;
" Plasmodium falciparum;
" Plasmodium malariae;
" Plasmodium ovale;
" Plasmodium vivax;
" Renal disease, especially nephrotic syndrome.
Nontyphoid Salmonella Reactive Arthritis (if within 3 months of infection).
Shigella Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (if within 1 month of infection);
" Reactive Arthritis (if within 3 months of infection)
West Nile virus Variable physical, Functional, or Cognitive disability.

Life of Veteran

The following conditions can manifest at ANY point after separation.

Disease Common Secondary
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Active tuberculosis;
" Long-term adverse health outcomes due to irreversible tissue damage from severe forms of Pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis and active tuberculosis.
Visceral leishmaniasis Delayed presentation of the acute clinical syndrome;
" Post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (if within 2 years of infection);
" Reactivation of Visceral leishmaniasis in the context of future immunosuppression.

Common Secondaries

NOTE:

  • Secondary service-connection is NOT presumptive.

Frequently Asked Questions

    • Sometimes the VBA makes a mistake or they are missing evidence that would indicate you are an eligible Veteran with a diagnosed condition. If this happens, it is strongly recommended that you seek out the assistance of a VSO to help you file an Appeal.

    Additionally,

    • If there is documentation that during service the Veteran's exposure was due to their own willful misconduct or that after the Veteran's separation there was a supervening condition or event that was more than likely the etiology of the disease, the Veteran may be denied service-connection.

References