Airborne hazards exams probably saved their lives

When Army Veteran Tim Peterson joined the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, he thought he was a healthy guy. At 60 years old, he ran a 5K and did 80 push-ups and sit-ups three days a week.

“I give myself a standard Army PT test once a year (pictured above) and I could pass at any age category,” he said. “I felt great, I never got sick, I was sharp as a tack.”

So, when the environmental health team from the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System called him in 2019 to see if he would like to take advantage of the free, optional health evaluation that’s a part of the registry, he initially thought “why should I go?”

But in the end, he did get the exam – and it probably saved his life.



Navy Veteran Yanderyn Shoup has a similar story. When her local Veteran Service Officer sent her information about the VA Gulf War Registry in 2019, “I clicked to see if I would qualify, and I did, because it was open to anyone who was on a ship in the Persian Gulf. I didn’t have any symptoms, but I figured it couldn’t hurt,” Shoup said.......>> Read More