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Military Health System

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene

Emergency procedures are in place in multiple states due to Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene. >>Learn More

February 10th, 2023 was a memorable day for some young Airmen of the 163d Attack Wing, at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. Members of the 163d Attack Wing's Emergency Management section decided to host a gas chamber event, due to a large portion of Airmen coming back from Basic Military Training without having experienced the gas chamber per COVID 19 restrictions at the time.
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Environmental Exposures

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) play distinct roles in dealing with chemical and biological (CB) exposures and are responsible for developing DOD deployment occupational and environmental health surveillance, risk assessment and risk management policies. DOD identifies and validates veteran’s exposure to CB agents and monitors deployment-related exposure incidents and trends. This ensures effective programs are in place to prevent occupational and environmental injuries or illnesses during deployment.

The Public Health Division collaborates with their DOD partners and the VA on long-term medical care and benefits for our service members. The division also provides the names of these individuals along with their exposure information to the VA. The VA then notifies individuals of their potential exposure, provides treatment, if necessary, for these individuals and adjudicates any claim for compensation.

These combined efforts are shaping the future of military medicine by supporting enhanced individual exposure assessment methods.  The Public Health Division partners with federal research institutes on many projects to include:

  • Development of exposure biomarkers
  • Individual chemical dosimeters 
  • Individual Longitudinal Exposure Records

This page is designed to provide Service members, veterans, their families and the public with information on what happened during CB testing conducted years ago that potentially affected the health of those who served. It provides information on the tests conducted by DOD that possibly resulted in CB exposures only. For privacy reasons, it does not contain the names of the veterans exposed.

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Mustard Disaster at Bari

.PDF | 107.26 KB

Bari lies along the Adriatic Sea at the top of the heel of the boot of Italy (See Figure 1). During World War II, the port of Bari was under the jurisdiction of the British and was the main supply base for General Montgomery’s Eighth Army as well as the headquarters for the American Fifteenth Air Force which was activated in November 1943.

Last Updated: July 08, 2024
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