Disability benefits are available for Navy Veterans who served offshore in Vietnam. Blue Water Navy Veterans are now entitled to a presump¬tion of service connection for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure.

This extension of the presumption is a result of Public Law 116-23, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, signed into law on June 25, 2019. The law takes effect January 1, 2020. The law states that Veterans aboard a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demar¬cation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia as defined in Public Law 116-23, between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides such as Agent Orange and may be enti¬tled to service connection for conditions related to that exposure.

To be entitled to disability compensation benefits, these Veterans must have one or more of the conditions asso-ciated with Agent Orange exposure that are listed in 38 Code of Federal Regulations section 3.309(e).

Agent Orange presumptive conditions are: • AL amyloidosis • Chloracne, or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne

• Chronic B-cell leukemias • Diabetes mellitus, Type 2 • Ischemic heart disease • Hodgkin lymphoma, formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma • Multiple myeloma • Parkinson’s disease • Peripheral neuropathy, early-onset • Porphyria cutanea tarda • Prostate cancer • Respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx or trachea) • Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosar-coma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma).

VA will apply the provisions of the law to Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans who file new claims based on presumption of exposure to Agent Orange. For those who had an Agent Orange claim with one or more presumptive conditions denied in the past, you are urged to file a new claim. Provide any new and relevant information regarding your claim such as dates you believe your ship traveled within 12 nautical miles of the Republic of Vietnam, or updated medical information. Claims that are currently in the VA review process or under appeal will be reviewed under the new policy.

A surviving spouse of a Blue Water Navy Veteran who passed away from a condition related to Agent Orange exposure, may be entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). If the Veteran served on a Navy or Coast Guard ship that operated in the coastal waters of Vietnam and Cambodia as defined in the Blue Water Navy Act of 2019 and the cause of death was from a condition related to exposure to Agent Orange, then VA may award entitlement to DIC on that basis.

To file a claim or if you have questions, contact Charles Mix County Veterans Service Officer, Jerry Seiner, at the courthouse in Lake Andes. The office number is 605-487-7691 and cell is 605-481-1338. Office hours are Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 to 4:30 and Wednesday from 8:00 to 12:00.