As you may have seen last week, former Director of Naval intelligence Tom Brooks came to me with a heartbreaking story of a man who gave all for his country, and for whom his country has done exactly nothing. It is baffling to me that the system could treat a hero this way. I asked the Admiral to pen some words explaining what happened to Douglass Hubbard, and the other Special Agents who served with him, and what desperately needs to be changed.
There are lives at stake.
He wrote me back, saying “When the modern U.S. military goes to war, it brings in its wake a host of civilian contractors. These include the ever-present technical representatives- the “TechReps”- who assist in the operation and maintenance of equipment. There are additionally thousands of foreign national contractors who run the mess halls, help build airstrips, and perform a broad range of rear-echelon support duties.”
“What many people don’t realize is that the military also brings with them small numbers of U.S. Civil Service personnel, some of whom actually find themselves on the front lines supporting our troops. A case in point is the Naval Investigative Service (NIS), now called the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), whose civilian Special Agents have been called to conduct investigations of crimes committed in Navy and Marine Corps units deployed along the very front lines of combat zones.”
“The specific case I will cite concerns the Civil Service NIS Special Agents who deployed to Viet Nam between the early 1960s and 1973 who were routinely called upon to conduct investigations in front-line Marine units in I Corps or Navy river boat bases in the Mekong Delta.”
“NIS Special Agents carried Geneva Convention cards declaring them to be non-combatants, but they wore Marine or Navy fatigues without insignia and they were armed. Fortunately, none was ever captured, since it is doubtful the enemy would have honored their non-combatant claim.”
“As government employee civilians, NIS Special Agents were not entitled to any military benefits and are not entitled to Veterans Administration medical care, despite the fact that they were deployed with front line combat units and were exposed to the same risks as combat troops. Particularly noteworthy among these risks was exposure to Agent Orange.”
“The first NIS presence in Viet Nam now dates back more than 50 years. The youngest of the Special Agents to have served there is now in his 70s. All of the maladies of old age are now compounded by the effects of such things as Agent Orange exposure, incurred in the line of duty. But they have never been eligible to receive VA care, and are not eligible for any VA disability pension.”
“This problem has long been recognized, but no effective solution has ever been provided. In 1988, a DOD Instruction was promulgated establishing a review process for determining eligibility for VA benefits, but the process established was complex and, quite frankly, unworkable. It resulted in no assistance either for the Special Agents of the Vietnam era or the NCIS Special Agents called upon to forward deploy with today’s forces.”
“Director of NCIS Andrew L. Traver is currently working to find a solution to this problem and the Deputy Director Samuel G. Worth has personally taken on the responsibility of spearheading the effort. But support will be required at the Secretarial level and in Congress if we are to correct this inequity – and do so before the last of the Vietnam era Special Agents are gone.”
“If we are to ask our Civil Service personnel to expose themselves to the same dangers as front line troops, we should at least be able to assure them that they will receive adequate medical assistance should they be injured or sickened while supporting those troops.”
I could not agree with him more. The case at hand is that of Special Agent Douglass Hubbard, who faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills while hoping for a lung transplant that could save his life. Doug served three tours of Duty in Vietnam- three years of exposure to hostile file and the other Agent that has caused so much suffering: Agent Orange
You can find out more at the Southwest Lung Transplant fund:
https://helphopelive.org/campaign/11617
But as Admiral Brooks notes, this horrible injustice must be addressed on all the levels of Government, from the NCIS to the Department of the Navy to Congress and the Executive Branch.
I am going to forward this to my Congressman, and to the two Senators who represent us in our state. I would ask you to do the same. We must take care of those who gave so much for their Country. It is a matter of honor.
– Vic
Copyright 2016 Thomas A. Brooks and Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
www.navintpro.org