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Thanks, Snipe, Tammy; sometimes when I post here I wonder if anyone is really reading the posts.

Follow the links in #1 above to the Blue Water Navy sites and you will find that the data and science are available, the DVA has just managed to ignore them so far.

Examples:

Since the beginning of the Bush administration, the DVA has attempted to destroy the medical data accumulated by the Institute of Medicine, the federal agency mandated by the Agent Orange Act of 1991 to track and evaluate veterans illnesses caused by Agent Orange. Their claim; the cost of maintaining those records and data was prohibitive.
Also during this administration the DVA has sought to de-fund the Institute of Medicine's ongoing Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange study. The IOM keeps finding more evidence and diseases caused by Agent Orange.
Most recently, the DVA managed to get the IOM to delete all references to the Royal Australian Navy's peer-reviewed report showing ships flash-distillers actually concentrated the TCDD contaminate in sea water, which was made even more toxic by picking up ions from steam heated copper tubing.

I'm always having to bring up this data in the face of people who can't believe Blue Water Navy sailors could be exposed to Agent Orange. Almost none ever investigate the information I post.

<Sigh!>

Most recently, the DVA managed to get the IOM to delete all references to the Royal Australian Navy's peer-reviewed report showing ships flash-distillers actually concentrated the TCDD contaminate in sea water, which was made even more toxic by picking up ions from steam heated copper tubing.

On conventional and nuclear ships the primary reason a ship has water distillers is for the boilers or steam generation for the turbines, not for the crew. The boilers come first and the distillers are used to produce boiler feed water for steam. The main concern isn't taste or even chemical contaminants. The main concern is salanity and conductivity. {I also worked a while in Fuel Oil Test Lab and did these test}

The chiilers or the make up water for the air conditioning system comes second as it is a battle necessity. Next comes galley usage for food and the last comes use for showers. If water runs lower showers are first to go.

RW American,
Like your tagline...I can empathize with your story. An Air Force friend has convinced me you’re both just as ‘Orange’ as the rest of us...in his case maybe more so, he was ‘loading’ the stuff every day, but because it was in ‘Thailand, not Vietnam’, he’s fighting the same battle you are. And don’t get me wrong, like you, I firmly believe the government definitely owes that ‘perfect health care system’ to us all. But where I differ is that after 30 years in the ‘private’ health care system (because I could), I’m now finding the VA system light years ahead of the HMO’s, and PPA’s I dealth with (remember I’m a sample of one). So just be careful what you wish for....you might get it!