Former Army intelligence analyst Elba Barr is being trained to connect the dots, which he now uses to go through a pile of medical records.
“Every year there has been something massive since 2013, medically,” Barr told CBS News’ chief investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge.
While Barr took place in the Middle East and Africa after 9/11 to pursue al-Qaeda, there is no question that the most toxic and dangerous place was Karshi-Khanabad or K2, a former Soviet air base in Uzbekistan, a starting point for classified missions in Afghanistan.
“K2 was for me, a base that should never have been a base … dangers, signs everywhere where your dangers were,” she said.
The 41-year-old mother is blaming the four months she spent at K2 for her chronic reproductive health problems.
“I had problems with my cervix, I continued to have severe pain, endometriosis. I had to have a partial hysterectomy. Last year, both ovaries were removed and I discovered onset, stage 1 cancer,” Barr said.
Barr is one of more than 200 K2 veteran women who flooded a Facebook page where members discuss contamination and health issues.
The nonprofit organization that monitors cases of K2 says that 40% of former members of the underlying women’s service self-report at least one miscarriage, 8% report breast or uterine cancer, and 30% report ovarian cancer or related problems. These data terrified Barr – bringing her to tears.
A period of six months CBS News investigation revealed soil saturated with jet fuel, oil and lubricants, radiation warnings, and prior use of chemicals.
Defense Department employee Mike Lechlitner was involved in early testing of the base. He said the new information revealed a lot about the base.
“We found out that the Soviets had a chemical weapons decontamination unit adjacent to our camp.”
Images obtained by CBS News show that the base was also a landfill for equipment used for chemical weapons, including protective equipment, such as face masks, which were used to block chemical agents. Those face masks were found in the “tent city,” where the troops worked and slept.
Phillip Sandell’s kindness
Barr said the CBS News investigation changed his life, giving him clarity on the cause of the medical problems he has been facing for years.
“I spent most of my ten years wondering, ‘Am I crazy?’ … And so it is [the CBS News investigation] made. He validated all the problems, worth a decade. “
Barr is now open to her children about her exposure to the toxic.
“I have no doubt that I will die young. I assume I am not. I live on borrowed time, 100%. It is not a question of whether, it is a matter of when,” Barr told Herridge.
Despite the data, the Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize a link between K2 and the disease. Barr wants the leadership to intensify, and despite the suffering of her and other veterans, she is confident they will serve again.
“And if you ask us, we will do it again, in a heartbeat. All we ask is that we have maintained the end of the agreement, it is in the VA and it is in the Department of Defense to support theirs.”
Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller has drafted an executive order that would open the door to medical and financial assistance for K2 veterans. The executive order was in its final stages when the Chapter was passed riots Last Wednesday. The K2 veterans group hopes it will continue to be signed by President Trump, although it is addressing the Biden administration if there is no action before the Inauguration Day.