Veterans Earn Key Victory in Battle Over Gulf War Illness

After years of lingering questions, ailing veterans suffering from Gulf War Syndrome finally received some answers from the Department of War in their fight to better comprehend the disease and find ways to treat it. 

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) noted a recent letter it received from the War Department stating it will change the guidance about how veterans were potentially exposed to chemical warfare in the Gulf War, from 1990 91. The DoW also plans to restore and attempt to locate classified documents from the conflict. 

The news comes after a VVA campaign warning veterans they were likely in harm’s way of toxins in the war, and the push to declassify reports, hoping it would lead to evidence that may help doctors treat veterans battling Gulf War-related illnesses. 

Breaking Down Gulf War Syndrome

Also known as Gulf War Illness, the disease has impacted one in three Gulf War veterans in the past three decades. 

During the conflict, troops faced exposure to chemical and biological weapons, leading to unexplainable reactions, such as diarrhea, muscle cramps, rashes, cognitive disorders, limited coordination and fatigue. Through the years, researchers have completed dozens of studies to understand the syndrome better. A report released in 2024 from Australia’s Griffith University pinpointed a “faulty cell function,” which might be tied to the illness, but also led to more questions. 

In March 1991, an ammunition storage facility in Khamisiyah, Iraq, was destroyed, releasing dangerous chemicals into the air. The DoD claimed that around 100,000 Gulf War soldiers were likely exposed to “low levels” of nerve gas from that explosion. 

Veterans who took part in the demolition of the facility were sent letters in 2005 that said they “may have been exposed” to sarin and cycle nerve chemicals, which slightly contradicts a DoD report in 2002 stating troops were “likely exposed.” 

Officials from the Defense Department met with VVA representatives on Dec. 18, 2025, and a letter covering what happened in the meeting was sent from the department to the VVA late last week. 

Newsweek obtained a copy of the letter stating veterans were “likely exposed” to toxins. The DoD also went on to “acknowledge that the 2002 case narrative said, ‘likely exposed’” and said it’s trying to address this mistake by placing specific language and links to the Military Health System website and an environmental exposure site. The letter stated this would allow veterans to “access and download (information) directly.” 

DoW Promises Better Commitment 

“We have developed a draft website update on ‘Khamisiyah Chemical Exposures’ and are currently working with our strategic communications and Health.mil website team to post it online and then share that link with VVA, once it is online and accessible,” the letter said. 

According to the letter, the DoW would bring back declassified papers about the Gulf War and maintain the website with accessible information. The department also stated it was trying to restore specific documents for digital use and was “trying to find any additional classified Khamisiyah-related documents and determine which, if any, can be declassified.”

“We are committed to continuing to facilitate the search for relevant potential documents for declassification,” the letter said. “We ourselves cannot commit to any specific outcomes of that process.” 

The department said it would seek help from other organizations, both internally and externally, to help with the document retrieval process. 

Two decades ago, Congress started redirecting funds used for Gulf War Syndrome research into Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, which continued into 2022, when it was converted to the Toxic Exposure Research Program. 

However, in the letter to the VVA, the Defense Department said it was “committed to looking at Gulf War Illness research.”

‘Responsibility’ to Learn More 

The DoW’s willingness to open new research is an important step to better understand Gulf War Syndrome, said James McCormick, a retired Army officer who was deployed to the Middle East in the early 1990s. 

“I witnessed firsthand the destruction of massive bunker complexes—munitions and debris blown into the air so severely that our units were forced into MOPP 4 (protective gear), buttoned up with hatches closed, as fallout rained down on us,” McCormick said. “Our sister unit, 1/18th Infantry, lost two soldiers in an explosion caused by a fire in camp. The chemical exposure and direct consequences of the destruction that occurred in the days following the ceasefire cannot be overstated.” 

McCormick, who serves as VVA’s executive director of government affairs, said, “Those experiences are permanently etched in my memory.” 

“A comprehensive accounting of what has happened, what we have learned, and what must be done moving forward represents not only an opportunity, but a responsibility,” McCormick said. 

Pete Kasperowicz, press secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, told Newsweek that VA will continue to work to treat Gulf War Illness. 

“VA has years of experience diagnosing, treating and researching Gulf War Illness, and this important work continues under President Trump,” he said. “If a patient presents with claims or symptoms of GWI, VA always takes the possibility of chemical weapons exposure into account.”